Virginia lawmakers send more than 30 gun bills to skeptical governor

As Virginia General Assembly members and employees showed up to one of the final workdays of the legislative session, the perennial debate over guns got violently real.

An unknown perpetrator fatally shot a man at the “Government Center” bus stop between Richmond City Hall and Capitol Square, causing a brief lockdown on the second-to-last day of the session.

Before the day was over, Gov. Glenn Youngkin had vetoed one gun bill and signaled strong skepticism of another, his first actions on the more than 30 gun-related bills Democratic lawmakers sent him this year. Most of the bills passed along party lines with opposition from Republicans.

Some of those bills involve duplicate House and Senate versions, but the higher-than-normal volume of approved gun legislation shows Democrats intend to keep pressing the issue, after passing a half-dozen major gun-control bills in 2020 under former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. 

Gun violence breaking out near the doorstep of state government didn’t go unnoticed, as advocates invoked the bus stop shooting while blasting Youngkin’s lack of support for gun legislation.

“This comes on the same day as a shooting in downtown Richmond killed one person, just steps from the statehouse,” the pro-gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Virginia voters elected a gun sense majority to take action to prevent gun violence and they listened—passing dozens of gun safety bills.”

Multiple Republican lawmakers pointedly noted that the shooting took place between two government buildings where Democratic officials have banned guns, on a bus line that also has weapon restrictions. Those rules, GOP lawmakers said, did little to stop the person who pulled the trigger and got away.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, called the incident tragic and jokingly suggested the legislature consider putting up “bigger or meaner-looking” signs saying no guns allowed.

“Believe it not, this criminal with evil in his heart ignored those signs,” Peake said.

The reaction to the bus stop shooting highlights the deep political divide on gun violence, with Democrats saying there are simply too many guns in too many places and Republicans insisting the problem can be addressed by getting tougher on crime and lawlessness.

Though gun-control advocates are pressuring the governor to sign at least some of the bills on his desk, Youngkin has made it fairly clear he doesn’t agree that the state’s firearm laws are too weak.

“I strongly urge the General Assembly to shift its focus towards proven strategies aimed at combating violent crime, mandatory minimums for armed criminals and the presumption against bail,” Youngkin said in a statement vetoing a bill that would have tightened rules requiring people credibly accused of domestic abuse to give up their firearms.

Youngkin has until April 8 to act on the dozens of gun bills awaiting his signature, veto or amendments.

The bills passed this year deal with:

Restricting assault weapons

• The most high-profile piece of gun legislation would reduce the availability of assault-style weapons in Virginia by making it a misdemeanor crime to import, sell, manufacture, purchase or transfer “assault firearms” and high-capacity magazines made after July 1. The proposal wouldn’t outlaw assault weapons that exist today, but creates a new rule banning anyone under 21 from buying or possessing assault weapons, regardless of the manufacture date.—House Bill 2/Senate Bill 2
• Virginia law already allows some cities and counties to ban the public carrying of loaded assault weapons. A bill sent to Youngkin would expand that authority to every local government, a proposal supporters say would reduce the possibility of long guns causing panic in public places.—House Bill 175/Senate Bill 99
• Lawmakers passed a bill giving Virginia authorities more power to go after auto sears, small plastic or metal devices that can cause semiautomatic guns to empty an entire clip with one trigger pull. Federal law treats auto sears the same as automatic machine guns, meaning they’re illegal without registration and paperwork. Virginia law enforcement officials told the legislature the lack of a state ban has limited their ability to get the devices off the streets. The auto sear proposal passed with bipartisan support, putting it higher on the list of gun legislation Youngkin could potentially approve.—HB22/SB210

Banning untraceable guns

• Law enforcement would get new powers to crack down on 3D-printed “ghost guns” and do-it-yourself gun kits under legislation that bans plastic firearms and other guns  security scanners can’t detect. The legislation would also create new restrictions against shipping unfinished firearm parts and guns without serial numbers. —House Bill 173/Senate Bill 100
• It’s already illegal to try to render a gun untraceable by filing off a serial number, but lawmakers passed a bill that would give law enforcement the ability to charge people for “knowingly” possessing or selling those guns without needing to prove who scratched off the serial number.—Senate Bill 363

Strengthening the red flag law

• Virginia has had a so-called red flag law on the books since 2020, but there has been little comprehensive data available on how authorities are using it to temporarily seize firearms from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. To address that, the General Assembly passed a bill requiring Virginia State Police to create a tracking and reporting system that would give policymakers quarterly updates on how many red flag orders are being issued and which localities are using them.—House Bill 916
• Another bill would create a training and awareness program meant to educate law enforcement, school personnel, mental health professionals and the public on how the red flag law works. —House Bill 637
• Judges and magistrates would get clearer guidance on what factors to consider when reviewing requests for red flag orders under legislation that specifies acts of violence, threats, self-harm, reckless use of guns and hurting animals should all be relevant when weighing whether someone should lose access to firearms.—Senate Bill 258

Waiting periods

• Both chambers approved a bill that would impose a five-day waiting period for gun purchases, starting when a prospective buyer signs a form agreeing to a background check.— House Bill 1195/Senate Bill 273

Banning guns in more places

• Largely in response to the shooting that took place at the University of Virginia in 2022, lawmakers passed a bill banning guns on college campuses and buildings owned by public institutions of higher education. Many colleges and universities already have administrative rules against firearms, but UVA Police Chief Tim Longo has argued establishing that prohibition, as a state law would make it easier for agencies like his to respond to reports of guns on campus. —House Bill 454/Senate Bill 383
• Lawmakers passed a bill to ban guns, knives and other weapons in hospitals and emergency medical centers that provide mental health treatment, with exceptions for security guards and law enforcement. —House Bill 861/Senate Bill 515

Tougher rules for the gun industry

• The state attorney general’s office and local government lawyers would gain greater power to sue the gun industry under a bill that creates a civil cause of action for firearm-related injuries. The legislation created “standards of responsible conduct” for those who make, sell or advertise guns and opens the door to lawsuits if their activity creates a “public nuisance” or “harm to the public.”—House Bill 318/Senate Bill 491
• Federal law imposes limits on how close gun shops can be to schools. Legislation pending in Virginia would apply similar rules to home-based gun dealers, preventing them from operating within one and a half miles from elementary and middle schools. —House Bill 585

Safe storage

• Democrats passed a bill that would require guns to be stored in a locked, inaccessible container if kept in a home with minors present or if someone in the home is banned from possessing guns. State law would continue to allow minors under 12 to use a gun with adult supervision.—House Bill 183/Senate Bill 368
• Another storage-related bill would create a new felony charge for parents or guardians who allow a child under 18 to access firearms despite knowing the child has a history of violent or threatening behavior. Adults could avoid charges if they allowed a minor to access a gun for defensive use when there was an “imminent danger of bodily injury.”—House Bill 36/Senate Bill 44
• Leaving a handgun visible in an unattended vehicle could lead to fines of up to $500 under a proposed law meant to prevent firearm thefts from cars parked on public roads. If authorities see guns left out, the bill would give them the ability to tow the vehicle. —House Bill 1462/Senate Bill 447
• The governor already amended a bill that would have required local school boards to send material to parents about the safety risks of guns in the home. Youngkin proposed a much broader type of parental notification dealing with numerous rights and responsibilities beyond guns, and would require the legislation to pass again next year.—House Bill 498/Senate Bill 225

Getting guns away from abusers

• State law prohibits anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse against a “family or household member” from having guns. A bill passed this year extends that rule to abuse against an “intimate partner,” defined as someone who was in a romantic, dating or sexual relationship with the abuser within the past year.—House Bill 362/Senate Bill 642
• Another abuse-focused bill would tighten rules requiring people credibly accused of abuse to surrender firearms. The legislation, which Youngkin already vetoed, would prevent those guns being handed over to someone under 21 or someone in the same household. —House Bill 46/Senate Bill 47

Gun violence study

• Lawmakers are attempting to have the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission conduct a comprehensive study of the “social, physical, emotional, and economic effects of gun violence” on Virginia communities. With the help of other state agencies, the commission would perform that study in 2024 and 2025 and report back to the legislature. —Senate Bill 338

Gun safety tax credits

• One of the rare firearm bills that passed with solid bipartisan support would expand an existing tax credit meant to make it cheaper for Virginians to buy gun safes. Under the proposal, the $300 tax credit could also be applied to trigger locks and similar safety devices applied directly to a gun. —House Bill 35