virginia citizens defense league

Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself

va-alert

Published 2/8/2026

REMINDER:  VCDL's virtual membership meeting is tonight (2/8/26) at 8pm.

Legislative Update

Below are the gun bills that have passed the originating house as of February 9, 2026. There are more bills still working their way through the system and there will be an update once all the gun bills have either passed out of their originating house or they have been defeated or delayed until next year. February 18 is cross-over day, where bills that passed out of one house are heard by the other house. We are approaching that halfway point. None of these bills are even close to being law yet. Major changes to a bill are colored in red. Bills that VCDL supports are in green.  VCDL comments about the bills are in italics. The only major changes in the list below are to bills dealing with “assault firearms.”

Bills that have passed the House and are heading to the Senate after 2/18/26

HB 40, Delegate Simon, makes unfinished firearm frames and receivers and un-serialized commercially made firearms unlawful to possess, purchase, sell, or transfer unless they are serialized.

Even a chunk of aluminum, if sold to the public to become a frame or receiver once completed, must be serialized under this bill. The bill doesn’t grandfather existing homemade firearms. This bill is unconstitutional, as there was no analog in the history or traditions of firearms with any such limitations at the time the Bill of Rights was adopted. Homemade guns have been legal since before the United States existed. And, of course, government, our servant, exempts itself from all this foolishness.

HB 93, Delegate Bennett-Parker, requires a person with a protective order against them or a person with a domestic violence conviction to surrender, sell, or turn their guns over to someone 21-years-old or older and someone who does not live with them. It requires the person to be advised that if a police officer believes they have not turned over all their guns, that the officer can get a search warrant to look for any such guns.

There are multiple problems with the bill as written. If a husband and wife co-own a shotgun for home defense, for example, and the husband gets a protective order issued against him, the wife would no longer have access to that co-owned shotgun. That punishes the wife and needlessly endangers her life. There is also the question of not allowing a person 18 to 20-years-old to retain the guns. A person in that age range can legally possess rifles, shotguns, and handguns. Young adults should be able to hold the guns.

HB 101, Delegate Ballard, eliminates the requirement that a concealed handgun permit be requested in writing, allowing for other methods of applying for a permit. 

This moves the law into the 21^st century, where all kinds of legal document can be submitted online.

HB 110, Delegate Laufer, creates a $500 civil penalty and subjects a vehicle to towing if a person leaves a visible handgun in an unattended vehicle. 

The car owner should not be at fault even if a criminal opens an unlocked car door to steal a firearm. It is the criminal who is solely to blame. This bill would put a handgun in the possession of, and under the control of, a tow truck company! Punish criminals and stop harassing good people.

HB 217, Delegate Helmer, prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and purchase of an “assault firearm” on or after July 1, 2026. “Assault firearms” possessed before July 1, 2026, are grandfathered and may be possessed, carried, and transported.  The prohibition on the possession and transport of a handgun or an “assault firearm” by anyone under the age of 21 has been changed to anyone under the age of 18. Magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and were made before July 1, 2026, are now grandfathered and can be possessed, transported, and carried, but not sold or purchased.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said in both DC v Heller, and recently The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v Bruen, that any firearm “in common use” is protected by the Second Amendment. The guns and magazines targeted by this bill are among the most common guns and magazines in the United States, making this bill unconstitutional. There are conservatively estimated to be over 20 million AR-15s and 700 million magazines that hold more than 10 rounds in civilian hands.

HB 229, Delegate Hernandez, prohibits firearms, or knives with a blade longer than 3.5 inches, in facilities that provide mental health services or developmental services, including hospitals, emergency departments, or emergency medical care facilities, if they offer such services.  Disarming visitors and guests, including concealed handgun permit holders, at such facilities violates their right to protect themselves in an emergency.

A U.S. District Court in the 2^nd Circuit has restrained enforcement of just such a law for being unconstitutional under New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v Bruen Supreme Court ruling.

HB 626, Delegate Callsen, restricts firearms at public institutions of higher education by requiring such firearms be part of an authorized program or activity inside a building.

A solution in search of a problem. Higher education students are adults and have a right to self-defense.

HB 871, Delegate Downey, requires all firearms in a home, that are not being carried on or about 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 biometric safe. Gun dealers must post signage about the law and there is also a provision to educate the public on firearm storage.

Biometric safes are more expensive than non-biometric safes. Biometric safes can be unreliable when being used under stress and they also require batteries to work. Why are biometric safes the only option for storing a loaded firearm? There are plenty of other locking mechanisms for safes that are just as secure.

Bills that have passed the Senate and are heading to the House after 2/18/26

SB 727, Senator Jones, prohibits the carry of certain loaded semi-automatic rifles and shotguns on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public in the Commonwealth.  Handguns are no longer covered by this bill. There is no exemption for CHP holders. This law currently only apply to the cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach and the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, or Prince William.

This expansion of the prohibition on the carry of certain firearms is a solution in search of a problem and unconstitutional under Bruen.

SB 749, Senator Salim, prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and purchase of an “assault firearm” on or after July 1, 2026. “Assault firearms” possessed before July 1, 2026, are grandfathered and may be possessed, carried, and transported.  The prohibition on the possession and transport of a handgun or an “assault firearm” by anyone under the age of 21 has been changed to anyone under the age of 18. Maximum magazine capacity has been increased from 10 to 15 rounds. Magazines that hold more than 15 rounds and were made before July 1, 2026, are now grandfathered and can be possessed, transported, and carried, but not sold or purchased.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said in both DC v Heller, and recently The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v Bruen, that any firearm “in common use” is protected by the Second Amendment. The guns and magazines targeted by this bill are among the most common guns and magazines in the United States, making this bill unconstitutional. There are conservatively estimated to be over 20 million AR-15s and millions of magazines that hold more than 15 rounds in civilian hands.

SB 763, Senator Williams Graves, creates an 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition manufacturers for gross sales into the Commonwealth. 

Is there going to be an excise tax for book publishers, raising the cost for people who want to exercise their First Amendment rights?  This is a “sin tax,” that affects a basic civil right. Owning a gun is not a sin. Guns are used to save hundreds of thousands of lives every year.