Overview
- Spanberger returned the centerpiece assault‑style firearm measures, HB 217 and SB 749, to lawmakers with amendments Tuesday, sending the General Assembly into an April 22 up‑or‑down decision on her changes.
- Her edits seek to spell out which guns are covered and keep some semiautomatic shotguns legal for hunting, and the proposals target future sales and transfers plus magazines over 15 rounds while exempting firearms and magazines owned before July 1.
- The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division warned Friday it will sue if Virginia enacts unconstitutional limits on gun rights, citing President Trump’s Executive Order 14206 and singling out SB 749’s curbs on AR‑15‑style rifles.
- The governor also signed other gun‑safety laws, including a ban on unserialized “ghost guns,” new liability for negligent gun makers and dealers, safe storage when minors are present, restored background checks for private sales, a higher purchase age of 21 for certain firearms, a buyback option for localities, and a penalty for leaving a handgun unsecured in a car, with one measure taking effect immediately under an emergency clause.
- Gun‑rights groups, including the NRA, vowed lawsuits, a Democratic sponsor praised the clarified approach, and coverage diverged on whether a ban was signed or amended, leaving the April 22 vote and a likely legal test as the next steps.