New Virginia law banning `assault firearms' prompts quick lawsuits from
gun-rights groups
[May 16, 2026]
By DAVID A. LIEB
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation banning the sale
and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, prompting immediate
lawsuits from gun-rights groups.
The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the
legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on
guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months in
office. That marks a sharp policy reversal from her Republican
predecessor, who had vetoed many similar measures.
“Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our
streets," Spanberger said in a statement Friday. "We are taking this
step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who
work every day to keep our communities safe.”
The new gun restrictions move Virginia closer to the likes of
California, Illinois and New York, which similarly have full Democratic
control of their legislatures and governors' offices. They also
highlight a continued national divide on gun policy, as various
Republican-led states have taken steps to relax firearm restrictions
that they describe as an infringement on Second Amendment rights.
A dozen states now target semi-automatic firearms
The new Virginia law, which takes effect July 1, will make it a
misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, for
people to buy, sell, transfer, import or manufacture an “assault
firearm.”
The measure defines that term to include semi-automatic rifles or
pistols with a magazine capacity of more than 15 rounds. It also
includes firearms with other characteristics, such as rifles capable of
accepting a detachable magazine that have a second handgrip or a
collapsible stock. The prohibition also applies to magazines capable of
holding more than 15 rounds. For most people, there’s no penalty for
merely possessing such weapons.
Eleven other states and Washington, D.C., already have laws prohibiting
the sale an manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, though the
details vary. Hawaii, for example, prohibits certain semi-automatic
pistols and high-capacity magazines, but not semi-automatic rifles.
Gun-rights groups challenge the Virginia law
Legal challenges came swiftly after Spanberger signed the legislation
Thursday. The National Rifle Association, joined by other groups, sued
in both federal and state court, asserting violations of the right to
bear arms.
“The firearms and magazines banned in this law aren’t bizarre and
unusual outliers, they’re among the most commonly owned guns and
magazines in the country," said Adam Kraut, executive director of the
Second Amendment Foundation, which joined the NRA in the federal
lawsuit. “They’re owned in the tens of millions by peaceable Americans
who use them overwhelmingly lawfully.”
The U.S. Department of Justice also vowed to sue to block the Virginia
law from being enforced.
The Virginia measure would “infringe on the Second Amendment rights of
law-abiding citizens to enjoy and use AR-15 rifles for lawful purposes
by making it a crime to purchase and sell them,” Harmeet Dhillon,
assistant attorney general for the department’s civil rights division,
wrote in an April letter to Spanberger.
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Courts have upheld other bans on semi-automatic weapons
So far, laws restricting certain semi-automatic firearms generally
have been upheld, including by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals,
which covers Virginia, Maryland and several additional states.
That appellate court twice upheld a Maryland law banning dozens of
types of semi-automatic weapons, describing them a 2024 ruling as
“military-style weapons" that are ill-suited for self-defense. It
concluded that “the Maryland law fits comfortably within our
nation’s tradition of firearms regulation.”
The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear a challenge in
that Maryland case. But gun-rights advocates remain hopeful of a
different outcome in future cases, noting that three conservative
justices on the nine-member court disagreed with the decision and a
fourth expressed skepticism that such firearm bans are
constitutional.
A change in governor leads to a change in laws
Former Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation
each of the past two years that would have prohibited the sale of
certain semi-automatic firearms.
But Youngkin's term ended in January, and he was succeeded by
Spanberger. The transition presented a huge opportunity for
advocates of gun restrictions, who already had support within the
Democratic-led Legislature.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer and U.S. House member, had
previously been a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, a group founded
after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut
claimed the lives of 26 people in 2012. The group lists 20% of the
Democrats in the Virginia House as its past volunteers.
"The fact that a former Moms Demand Action volunteer just signed an
assault weapons ban in the home state of the NRA speaks volumes
about how dramatically the political calculus around gun safety has
shifted,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun
Safety, the umbrella organization for Moms Demand Action..
Republican states act to expand gun rights
While Virginia tightens gun regulations, many Republican-led states
have been expanding gun rights.
On the same day Spanberger signed the semi-automatic firearm
restrictions, Missouri's Republican-led Legislature gave final
approval to legislation creating a school ranger program that could
let trained volunteers carry firearms in schools.
A law signed by Spanberger last month raised the age to purchase a
handgun in Virginia from 18 to 21. By contrast, Republican West
Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a law last month lowering the
age from 21 to 18 for carrying concealed guns without a state
permit.
Yet another law signed by Spanberger last month opens new grounds
for lawsuits against the firearms industry. That came shortly after
Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law limiting liability
lawsuits against the firearms industry.
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