The Commonwealth of Virginia, once the cradle of American freedom and home to the Bill of Rights, is witnessing a historic betrayal in real time.
On March 14, the Virginia General Assembly wrapped up the 2026 legislative session and rammed through more than fifteen pieces of anti-gun legislation. In just 60 days, the anti-gun left has nearly eliminated gun rights for millions of law-abiding Virginians.
Their crown jewel of tyranny? SB 749 and HB 217, two so-called “assault weapons” ban bills.
These identical bills landed on the desk of newly elected Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger during the final days of the legislative session and are currently awaiting her signature.
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Abigail Spanberger, Governor of Virginia, left; a gun shop, right. (Mike Kropf/Getty Images; Charly Tribelleau/Getty Images)
She has promised to sign them into law.
For years, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and our dedicated members have stood up against these unconstitutional violations as they have surfaced in state legislatures across the country.
Just a few weeks ago, through overwhelming grassroots activism and pressure from gun rights groups like GOA, a similar ban on “assault weapons” was defeated in New Mexico. And last year in Virginia, former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed 27 anti-gun bills — including a ban on “assault weapons.”
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But with the election of billionaire Michael Bloomberg-backed Spanberger in November 2025, the governor’s seat is now a rubber stamp for the radical gun control lobby. Anti-gun Democrats also flipped a dozen pro-gun seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, while also maintaining a slim majority in the Virginia Senate.
And within hours of gaining control of the governor’s mansion and legislature, anti-gun lawmakers began drafting scores of gun controls, promising to ram through the General Assembly at warp speed.
Make no mistake: SB 749/HB 217 has nothing to do with “safety” and everything to do with revoking your Second Amendment rights. This legislation targets America’s most popular firearms – tools used by millions of law-abiding citizens for self-defense, competition and sport. According to the FBI, almost twice as many people are killed with hands/fists than with any type of gun. And more than three times as much with knives. Yet anti-gun radicals would have us believe that semi-automatic firearms should be banned.
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But by arbitrarily labeling semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns as “assault firearms” based on common features such as folding stocks or rifling barrels, the anti-gunners are actively removing your ability to defend yourself and your family with the tools of your choice.
Additionally, the legislation focuses on standard capacity magazines, labeling anything over 15 rounds as a “large capacity ammunition feeding device.”
But with the election of billionaire Michael Bloomberg-backed Spanberger in November 2025, the governor’s seat is now a rubber stamp for the radical gun control lobby.
Supporters of SB 749 point to similar laws that exist in other states, but the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen made it clear: the government must prove that any firearms regulation is consistent with this country’s historical tradition.
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There is no historical tradition of banning the most commonly used firearms in the country. There is no constitutional basis for targeting certain semi-automatic firearms and for using state power to punish anyone who buys, sells or transfers one after July 1, 2026.
The anti-gun Democrats’ argument that these are “weapons of war” is a lazy buzzword. These weapons are the modern equivalent of the musket – the standard arm of the citizen-soldier.
And let’s be clear: the Second Amendment was not written for deer hunting; it was written to ensure that the ‘body of the people’ would always have the means to resist a tyrannical government.
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When George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, he minced no words when it came to our right to own firearms. “That a well regulated Militia, composed of the people, trained in Arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free State, wherefore the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed….”
It is easy to understand where the inspiration for the Second Amendment of the American Bill of Rights came from.
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By depriving Virginians of these tools, Spanberger and her allies are deliberately shifting the balance of power from the people to the state, endangering liberty and freedom in the process. Clearly they have forgotten, or worse, purposefully ignored, the motto of this great commonwealth: ‘Sic semper tyrannis’, which translates to ‘so always for tyrants’.
And within hours of gaining control of the governor’s mansion and legislature, anti-gun lawmakers began drafting scores of gun controls, promising to ram through the General Assembly at warp speed.
Make no mistake: American gun owners will not stand idly by while Virginia’s Spanberger-led government trashes our gun rights.
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Gun Owners Foundation – GOA’s legal arm – is already working with our friends at the Virginia Citizens Defense League to challenge these violations in court. No law-abiding Virginian should be subjected to such heinous and un-American laws.
The political and legal battle ahead to restore gun rights in Virginia will be long and difficult, but the GOA will continue until every word on gun control is rescinded. And as we fight, we carry with absolute determination the words of the great Founding Father and lifelong Virginian Patrick Henry: “The great purpose is that every man be armed. Anyone who is able to do so can have a gun.”
