Even though the Virginia Constitution says that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed … ,” and the U.S. Bill of Rights also uses these powerful, straightforward words, the legislature in Virginia is moving forward with a litany of unconstitutional infringements.
A look within Senate Bill 749 indicates which guns the state, if this bill becomes law, would ban: “‘Assault firearm’ means any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol which expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine which will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock.”
As is always the case, the definition of an “assault weapon” (or, in this case, an “assault firearm”) is a political definition based on how a law is written. This definition does not include semi-automatic shotguns—some laws, such as New York’s, have—but seeks to both categorically (just about every commonly owned AR-type rifle and the vast majority of semi-automatic pistols can take larger magazines) and arbitrarily (a threaded barrel made to allow a person to use a hearing-safety device is included) ban Virginians’ commonly owned guns.
This gun ban was introduced by state Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Merrifield). It would also outlaw the importation, sale and possession of so-called “assault firearms.” Anyone who violates this ban would be barred from legally owning a firearm for three years and could face a Class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $2,500 and up to one year in jail.
Salim’s bill would also outlaw “large capacity ammunition feeding devices.” As this legislation defines them, these are simply commonly owned and carried magazines that can hold over 10 rounds.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, of the 963 million magazines produced for the commercial market from 1990 to 2021, some 717 million could hold more than 10 rounds. If this bill becomes law, the possible penalty for owning a “high-capacity” magazine would be a Class 1 misdemeanor.
These magazines, like the very popular AR-type semi-automatic rifles, are commonly owned in Virginia and by citizens in most of the country. As the Heller (2008) decision noted, this gives them protection under the Second Amendment as they are “in common use.”
To promote Senate Bill 749, State Senator Salim posted on X on January 26: “I have introduced three bills in the Virginia Senate to keep the chaos, lawlessness, and violence that we have seen perpetrated against Minnesotans from coming to Virginia. @ACLUVA @NewVAMajority.”
This is a confusing, convoluted post, as lawfully and commonly owned firearms are hardly causing “chaos, lawlessness, and violence.” A deeper dive into how Salim is framing his argument, via a document linked to his post, indicates he is somehow claiming that this gun and magazine ban would impede federal law-enforcement actions that he does not like. It is very confusing rhetoric indeed.
In contrast, in an opinion piece in The Virginian-Pilot, John Commerford, executive director of NRA-ILA, points out that “Virginia gun owners cannot afford to sit back and hope someone else fights this battle. Now is the time to prepare, organize and make your voice heard. The other side counts on silence; they’re counting on our apathy. We need to prove them wrong. The future of Virginia’s freedom depends on it.”
We’ll keep you up to date as this struggle for freedom continues.
