Virginia Citizens Defense league

Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself

va-alert-Legislative Update

Published 4/10/2026

Legislative Alert: Governor Spanberger has signed

some gun bills into law

Here are the bills that Spanberger has signed into law so far (effective July 1). She still has until Monday at midnight to sign, veto, or propose changes to gun bills. Any bills that are unsigned, unchanged, or not vetoed by Tuesday morning will become law without her signature. Most would be effective on July 1 if they become law.

NOTE: Once the fate of all gun bills has been determined and we have the final language (in case changes were put in by the Governor), VCDL will put out a comprehensive alert on exactly how these new laws affect Virginia gun owners. We should know the final status of vetoed or changed bills by April 23.

VCDL Strongly Oppose

HB 19, Delegate McClure, and SB 160, Senator Perry, makes battery in a “dating relationship” a misdemeanor and takes away the right to purchase, possess, or transport a firearm for three years. Misdemeanors should never take away a civil right.

HB 21, Delegate Helmer, and SB 27, Senator Carroll Foy, allows one of the most highly regulated industries, the firearms industry, to be sued civilly for a variety of already illegal actions. It also holds the manufacturers and sellers of even the most benign of firearm accessories, like a butt stock or a gun case, liable to a civil lawsuit if it doesn’t “properly” protect that item from theft or misuse by a criminal.  How could a firearm accessory seller reasonably know if they were selling a gun sling to a prohibited person? Should a car parts store be sued if they sold a seat cover for a car used in a bank robbery? This bill is designed to have a chilling effect on all aspects of the firearms industry.

SB 38, Senator Favola, and 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. Why can’t young adults be used to hold the guns?

HB 40, Delegate Simon, and SB 323, Senator Ebbin, makes unfinished firearm frames and receivers and un-serialized commercially made firearms unlawful to possess, purchase, sell, or transfer unless they are serialized. Un-serialized firearms made before 1968 are exempt. Making new un-serialized firearm becomes illegal on January 1, 2027. It will become illegal to possess existing un-serialized firearms on July 1, 2027.  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 1071, Delegate Laufer, requires training on how to use Red Flag laws by threat assessment teams in public elementary and secondary schools and public institutions of higher education.  Red Flag laws do not provide any help for someone suffering from a mental health crisis and they do not provide due process for weeks after someone’s firearms are seized.

VCDL Oppose

SB 109, Senator Pekarsky, requires schools to notify parents by text and on the school’s website, within 30-days of the start of school, that the parents are responsible for making sure they have secured their firearms from their children, as required under 18.2-56.2.  This bill leaves it up to school boards to come up with their own wording, and that leaves the warnings subject to anti-gun mischief – such as discouraging gun ownership by the parents.

VCDL Neutral

HB 201, Delegate Cohen, requires schools to notify parents by text and on the school’s website, within 30-days of the start of school, that the parents are responsible for making sure they have secured their firearms from their children, as required under 18.2-56.2.  Educates parent on the current law.

HB 916, Delegate Lopez, changes the concealed handgun permit training requirements to replace “2. Completing any National Rifle Association or United States Concealed Carry Association firearms safety or training course;” with a more general, “2. Completing a handgun shooting class or course that teaches (i) efficient, effective, and responsible use of a concealed handgun for self-defense outside the home; (ii) state laws pertaining to handguns; and (iii) proper handgun storage techniques;” Expands the number of instructors who can offer CHP classes.