A proposal to dramatically restrict the future sale and transfer of certain assault‑style firearms cleared a key hurdle in the Virginia Senate this week, advancing after a party‑line vote in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. Senate Bill 749, sponsored by Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim of Fairfax, now heads to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee with significant changes that have sparked intense debate.
The legislation, as it stands, would bar the future manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer and importation of assault‑style firearms defined under state law. Lawmakers adopted a substitute version of the bill in committee before it was rereferred. While current owners would not be forced to surrender firearms they already legally possess, the bill’s revised language narrows existing exemptions and creates new legal risks for gun owners.
Under the proposal, firearms manufactured or owned before July 1 would remain legal, and antique and permanently inoperable weapons would also be exempt. Certain manually operated firearms would continue to be allowed. However, an amendment adopted in the committee removed language that would have permitted continued ownership of some semi‑automatic firearms with fixed magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds if they were already legally in someone’s possession. The revised bill now includes language that could make possession of those magazines a Class 1 misdemeanor once the law takes effect.
Sen. Salim framed the bill as a fulfillment of a campaign promise, telling supporters at an event organized by the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Caucus that passing an assault weapons ban was a central part of his platform and that the state now has leadership willing to sign it into law. Supporters argue that the measure will reduce gun violence and close loopholes in existing law.
Opponents have sharply criticized the revised bill, particularly the changes to magazine exemptions. The executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action called the proposal a doubling down by “gun‑grabbing politicians” and vowed that the organization will challenge it in court. Former Attorney General Jason Miyares also took to social media to denounce the bill as unconstitutional and warned that it could criminalize otherwise lawful conduct by gun owners.
The legislation must still clear the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee before it can move to a full floor vote and, if approved by both chambers of the General Assembly, would then go to first‑term Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger for consideration. The bill’s progress sets up a contentious legislative session as lawmakers, advocacy groups, and gun rights proponents brace for a high‑stakes policy fight over the future of firearm regulation in Virginia.
