Virginians who currently possess so-called “assault firearms” could face criminal charges unless they give them up under a newly-introduced bill in the state Senate.
SB 749, introduced by Sens. Saddam Sadim, Creigh Deeds, and Lamont Bagby, contains no grandfather clause for current gun owners. Instead, it simply bans the importation, sale, manufacture, purchase, possession, transportation, or transfers of an “assault firearm.”
B. Any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses, transports, or transfers an assault firearm is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) any government officer, agent, or employee, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, to the extent that such person is otherwise authorized to acquire or possess an assault firearm and does so while acting within the scope of his duties; (ii) the manufacture of an assault firearm by a firearms manufacturer for the purpose of sale to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees, provided that the manufacturer is properly licensed under federal, state, and local laws; (iii) the sale or transfer of an assault firearm by a licensed dealer to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees; or (iv) any member of a cadet corps who is recognized by a public institution of higher education while such member is in the performance of lawful military training or such member is participating in an official ceremonial event for the Commonwealth.
And that’s it. No exceptions for existing owners of “assault firearms”, unless they’re law enforcement or the military. And despite the gun control lobby’s insistence that “police violence is gun violence,” don’t expect Moms Demand Action, Everytown, Brady, or Giffords to object one bit to exempting police from the provisions of SB 749.
Now, it could very well be that the authors of this bill intentionally left out a grandfather clause with the intent of later amending the bill to include one as a show of their willingness to compromise, so long as the sale of these firearms are still prohibited. Either way the bill flagrantly violates our right to keep and bear arms, and honestly, I’m going to take these senators at their word when they say they want countless numbers of Virginians (including myself) to face months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines for simply keeping ahold of firearms that I’ve lawfully purchased and possessed.
In fact, I don’t think any Republicans in the legislature should try to water down this bill by offering an amendment to exclude existing owners. This is what Democrats introduced. Don’t negotiate. Don’t give them an opportunity to claim they’re really moderate and willing to compromise. They keep insisting that no one wants to take our guns, and SB 749 proves them wrong. Make them own it.
That doesn’t mean conservative lawmakers should be silent. Instead, those lawmakers should be reaching out to county sheriffs, county supervisors, and Commonwealth Attorneys to encourage them to take a stand against SB 749 and declare they will not enforce this unconstitutional gun grab… and Virginia gun owners should be doing the same. So far we haven’t seen much of a resurgence of the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement in the Commonwealth, but that needs to change. Six years ago the vast majority of counties and independent cities in the state declared they wouldn’t recognize or enforce any unconstitutional laws adopted by the General Assembly, and they need to reiterate that stance and make it clear that they will protect the Second Amendment rights of their residents from the unconstitutional attacks by the Democrats in control of state government.
***UPDATE***
Upon further review, there’s a little bit of legislative trickery here in the bill that may actually create a grandfather clause for existing owners, at least those above the age of 21. A portion of the bill states “As used in this section, an “assault firearm” means the same as that term is defined in § 18.2-308.2:2.”
If you click that link, you’ll see the definition of an “assault firearm” that reads “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.”
SB 749 amends that statute, though, to include this language ““assault firearm” does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or was manufactured before July 1, 2026.”
Now, from a logical standpoint this makes no sense whatsoever. The exact same model of a firearm manufactured on June 30th wouldn’t be considered an “assault firearm,” but would be if it were made a day later. That’s not a features test, it’s a calendar test. But as incoherent and illogical as it may be, it would likely allow for those existing owners over the age of 21 to keep their firearms… at least for now.
Oddly, though, SB 749 has a separate definition of “assault firearm” as it applies to purchasers and possessors under the age of 21:
As used in this section, an “assault firearm” means the same as that term is defined in § 18.2-308.2:2 except that it includes such firearms manufactured before July 1, 2026.
So that hypothetical firearm manufactured on June 30, 2026 would be considered an “assault firearm” if a 20-year-old was holding it. But it would magically be transformed into a non-assault firearm if a 22-year-old took possession.
That’s utterly nonsensical, and I can’t imagine that language surviving any kind of court challenge. I’d be shocked it if actually survives the committee process, to be honest. The result may be a grandfathering of under-21s as well, or the removal of any grandfather clause altogether, but either way I stand by the headline above: yes, Democrats do want your guns.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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