Authored by Tim O'Brien via PJMedia.com,
Now that the Virginia General Assembly has passed what it calls “assault weapon ban” legislation, all that’s needed is for Gov. Abigail Spanberger to sign it into law, which is all but a given. Once signed, Senate Bill 749 will likely take effect as soon as July 1, 2026.
The law will ban the sale, import, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of what it describes as “assault firearms,” and it will treat high-capacity magazines that can hold 15 rounds or more in the same way. It will make any violations of the law a “Class 1 misdemeanor,” which could mean up to a year in jail and a $2,500 for a first offense.
While SB 749 does not explicitly ban AR-15 rifles, since the popular long rifle falls under the bill’s definition of assault weapons, it will be effectively banned.
A Bangladeshi immigrant who has served in the Virginia Senate since 2024 is the sponsor of the massively aggressive gun control legislation. Saddam Azlan Salim came to America when he was 10 years old, settling with his family in Fairfax County.
His bill, which will make guns with pistol grips, retractable stocks, and large magazines illegal for sale in Virginia, passed the state’s Senate on Feb. 9 by a close vote of 21-19.
On March 4, the House voted 59-35 for a substitute version of the bill, and on March 9, the Senate approved the substitute bill. This means the legislation is one signature away from law and the inevitable court fight that Second Amendment advocates hope will go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) pointed out that what’s being banned is not “rare or unusual,” emphasizing that “these are not unusual items.”
In a statement in the wake of the legislation’s passage, GOA said in part:
SB 749 is a blatant, unconstitutional attack on the people of Virginia and a direct violation of our God given right to keep and bear arms. It is the latest attempt by an anti gun Democrat legislature to strip citizens of their rights while pretending they are making anyone safer.
Instead of targeting criminals, it targets you. It punishes peaceful Virginians for exercising a constitutional right.
And make no mistake, this bill will trigger lawsuits resulting in years of expensive litigation for Virginia taxpayers, who will be forced to fund the Commonwealth’s legal defense of obviously infringing legislation.
If you carry a handgun, this could affect you if your magazine holds in excess of 10 rounds. If this is what a moderate Democrat looks like, I’d hate to see an extremist.