By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed legislation making it illegal to import, sell, manufacture, purchase or transfer assault firearms and certain high-capacity magazines in the commonwealth beginning July 1.
Under Senate Bill 749 and companion House Bill 217, violations involving assault firearms would be classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Anyone convicted under the law would also be prohibited from purchasing, possessing or transporting firearms for three years following conviction.
The legislation also prohibits the importation, sale, barter, transfer or purchase of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than 15 rounds, with some exceptions.
The law allows people who already legally own the affected firearms to keep them and exempts antique firearms and weapons rendered permanently inoperable.
Spanberger previously proposed amendments to the legislation, including language she said would have carved out certain firearms commonly used for hunting, but lawmakers rejected those changes during April’s reconvened session before the governor signed the bill Thursday.
“I am signing this bill into law because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,” Spanberger said in a statement. “We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.”
Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Fairfax, chief patron of the legislation, called the signing “a monumental victory for public safety in the commonwealth of Virginia.”
“This achievement is the collective work of countless advocates, elected leaders and groups who have fought tirelessly for gun violence prevention long before my time in the General Assembly,” Salim said. “When I ran for state Senate against an incumbent who voted against prior versions of an assault weapons ban, the people who believed in this vision stood with me to make the impossible possible.”
The National Rifle Association said Thursday night it had filed lawsuits in both Virginia state and federal court challenging the law.
“As promised, we are taking Abigail Spanberger to court,” John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. “Throughout the legislative session, the NRA and our members fought Richmond’s radical gun control package tooth and nail.”
Commerford called the legislation “a blatant violation of Second Amendment rights” and said the organization would seek to block enforcement of the measure in court.
Virginia House GOP Leader Terry Kilgore also criticized the legislation Friday, calling it an “unconstitutional gun ban.”
“We warned Democrats repeatedly that their effort to ban some of the most commonly owned firearms was unconstitutional,” Kilgore said in a statement. “The Supreme Court has already spoken to this in Bruen, and Democrats are going to waste even more taxpayer money just to lose. Again.”
