Virginia Citizens Defense league

Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself

va-alert-Legislative Update

Published 2/25/2026

VCDL URGENT Legislative Action Alert! 2/25/26

Tomorrow, Thursday, February 26, at 4pm, the House Public Safety Firearms subcommittee is meeting and will vote on two gun-control bills!

SB 115, Senator Pekarsky, severely restricts concealed handgun permit reciprocity with other states.  Currently, Virginia honors permits from all other states, which, in turn, allows Virginians to be able to carry in most of those states. Virginia residents may not use a permit from another state to carry in Virginia. They must have a Virginia permit.  Permit holders from other states have been peacefully carrying in Virginia for years.  This bill is an unjust and demeaning slap in the face to law-abiding Virginia gun owners, as it will reduce the number of states where a Virginia permit holder can carry a handgun for self-defense. This bill makes Virginians who are traveling less safe! It will also discourage gun owners outside of Virginia from visiting the Commonwealth, effecting the state’s economy. This bill is a solution in search of a problem.

SB 643, Senator Surovell, prohibits 18, 19, and 20-year-olds from purchasing a handgun or “assault firearm” anywhere in the Commonwealth. The definition of “assault firearm” is “any (i) semi-automatic centerfire rifle or handgun that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock or (ii) shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered.”  Eliminating the purchase of handguns or “assault firearms” by young adults is unconstitutional.

ACTION ITEMS

• If you wish to register to speak and/or submit comments, click here.
  
  
• If you can attend the meeting in person, the location is in the House North Subcommittee Room - 200.
  
  
• Click here to send a prewritten email to your Delegate in opposition to those two bills.

Bills that passed both the House and Senate so far this week

and are now headed to the Governor’s desk

SB 348, Senator Boysko, requires all firearms in a home, that are not being carried on a person, to be unloaded and placed in a locked container if there is a minor in the home or if there is a prohibited person in the home. A gun may only be stored loaded if it is in a safe that has either a combination lock, a coded lock, or a biometric lock. Gun dealers must post signage about the law and there is also a provision to educate the public on firearm storage.

This bill does not allow the gun to be about the person, making things like cleaning the gun impossible to do legally.

HB 901, Delegate Sullivan, expands the Red Flag law by allowing more categories of people to petition for someone to be Red Flagged. The expanded types of petitioners cover various kinds of counselors and medical professionals. It now also includes immediate family or household members and intimate partners.



The recent lawful acquisition of a firearm or ammunition is considered possible evidence that someone might need to be Red Flagged! This bill will discourage someone from getting medical or counselling help, as the person will not be able to trust that any information he shares won’t be used against him. The expanded list of petitioners will greatly increase abuse of the Red Flag law by someone with a grudge.