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Second Amendment Roundup: Virginia Bans "Assault Firearms"

The General Assembly tests the courts to see what it can get away with.

Stephen Halbrook | 5.24.2026 9:30 PM

Just last year, Justice Elana Kagan wrote for a unanimous Supreme Court in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos that "the AR–15 is the most popular rifle in the country," adding that such rifles are "both widely legal and bought by many ordinary consumers."  And while at the same time the Court denied cert in Snope v. Brown, Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued a statement that the Fourth Circuit "erred by holding that Maryland's ban on AR–15s complies with the Second Amendment" and predicted that "this Court should and presumably will address the AR–15 issue soon, in the next Term or two."

The Virginia General Assembly apparently doesn't want to be outdone by California and the few other outlier states testing the Supreme Court to see if it really means it, as it stated in Heller, that the Second Amendment protects (at a minimum) "arms 'in common use at the time' for lawful purposes like self-defense." Virginia enacted HB 217/SB 749, effective July 1, making the transfer or purchase of an "assault firearm" (defined to include popular semiauto firearms) and magazines holding over 15 rounds a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by incarceration for one year.  A second offense makes it unlawful to possess any firearm for three years.

In signing the bill on May 14, Governor Abigail Spanberger stated: "While the General Assembly chose not to adopt my amendment that specifically carves out certain firearms frequently used for hunting, I will work with the patrons to clarify this language."  The governor is correct to concede a point that will be used in litigation challenging the new law, as the Virginia Constitution protects the right to hunt.  I explain the origins of that recognition in "The Constitutional Right to Hunt: New Recognition of an Old Liberty in........

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