Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger recently signed a package of “commonsense” bills that she and supporters maintain will reduce gun violence and save lives, but some of them may not be enforced if local prosecutors get their way.
The new laws include controversial prohibitions on the sale or transfer of assault style firearms including the popular AR-15 and large capacity ammunition feeding devices and the public carrying of such weapons.
According to the Virginia Citizens Defense League as many as 10 local prosecutors who believe these measures violate gun rights have vowed not to enforce them.
Among those prosecutors expressing opposition to the new laws are prosecutors from Powhatan and Smyth counties.
According to Virginia Scope, in a letter to Powhatan Sheriff Bradford Nunnally, Powhatan Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Cerullo reportedly wrote: “Please be advised that it is my opinion that significant parts of House Bill 217 – specifically, bans of so called assault firearms, large capacity ammunition feeding devices and the carrying of these items in public – are facially unconstitutional.”
Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins Jr. told Virginia Scope he finds the assault weapons ban unconstitutional and thus unenforceable. “My office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the unconstitutional assault weapon ban,” Blevins wrote.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said he expects these elected prosecutors to enforce the state laws. He said the laws seek to reduce violent crime and hold the firearms industry accountable for harmful practices. At a press conference on Monday Jones said the package of new laws targets a “small number of bad actors” and not the majority of responsible gun owners or sellers. “This is not anti-guns; this is prop-safety,” Jones said.
“We expect accountability from our government and we should expect accountability from industries,” Jay commented.
The legislation is also facing legal challenges. The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action has already lawsuits in both state and federal courts challenging the laws as violating the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions.
“The NRA will not sit idly by while progressive politicians strip the rights of law-abiding citizens, and our world-class legal team is locked, loaded, and ready to shoot down this outrageous gun-control law,” commented John Commerford, NRA-ILA executive director.
On June 19, a judge with the Spotsylvania Circuit Court declined to issue a preliminary injunction to block the assault weapons ban.
The laws are slated to go into effect on July 1.
In addition to the assault rifle prohibition, the package of laws also includes provisions cracking down on untraceable ghost guns, requiring the safe storage of forearms, restoring universal background checks, and banning individuals convicted of a hate crime from owning a firearm.
One of the new laws seeks to hold firearm industry members responsible for the sale or distribution of a firearm to a straw purchaser, a firearm trafficker, someone prohibited from possessing a firearm, or a person who the firearm industry member has “cause to believe is at substantial risk of using a firearm” to harm themselves or another person.
The bill also creates a civil cause of action for the attorney general or a local county, city, or town attorney to enforce the provisions of the bill or for any person who has been injured as a result of a firearm industry member’s violation to seek an injunction and to recover costs and damages.
As a former federal law enforcement officer, Spanberger noted that she carried a gun and high-capacity magazines marked ‘for law enforcement use only’ every day for her job. As a federal agent, she worked narcotics trafficking and money laundering cases, executed search warrants, and arrested criminals.
Spanberger said that in the past, when the General Assembly passed similar gun safety measures, the then-governor vetoed them. She said the measures keep kids, law enforcement, and communities safer from gun violence.
According to the governor’s office, the package of bills (with their main sponsors) signed into law are:
- HB19 (Delegate Adele McClure) — Closing the Boyfriend Loophole to make sure convicted domestic abusers cannot exploit a legal technicality to keep their firearms.
- HB93 (Senator Elizabeth Bennett-Parker), SB38 (Senator Barbara Favola)— Prohibiting the transfer of firearms when a protective order is issued to protect women, families, and all Virginians from violence.
- HB21 (Delegate Dan Helmer) — Holding the firearm industry accountable when negligent business practices contribute to gun violence.
- HB40 (Delegate Marcus Simon) — Cracking down on ghost guns to take untraceable, unregistered firearms off Virginia streets and give law enforcement the ability to track weapons used in crimes.
- HB110 (Delegate Amy Laufer), SB496 (Senator Dave Marsden) — Reducing stolen firearms and keeping law enforcement safe by prohibiting unsecured handguns in unattended motor vehicles.
- HB217 (Delegate Dan Helmer), SB749 (Senator Saddam Salim) —Protecting Virginia families, law enforcement, and communities by prohibiting the future sale of assault-style weapons.
- HB1524 (Delegate Garrett McGuire) — Keeping dangerous firearms out of public spaces by prohibiting the public carry of assault-style weapons.
- HB1523 (Delegate Garrett McGuire) — Creating a certification for Violence Prevention Professionals to build a trained workforce to interrupt violence before it starts.
- HB969 (Delegate Marcia Price) — Establishing the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center Workgroup to create the infrastructure to make Virginia a national leader in gun violence prevention.
- HB1015 (Delegate Kathy Tran) — Prohibiting firearm possession by individuals convicted of a hate crime.
- HB702 (Delegate Joshua Cole) — Encouraging firearm sell-back programs to give Virginians a safe, simple way to get unwanted guns out of homes and out of circulation.
- HB871 (Delegate Mark Downey), SB348 (Senator Jennifer Boysko) — Requiring safe storage of firearms to protect children and prevent theft.
- HB201 (Delegate Laura Jane Cohen), SB109 (Senator Stella Pekarsky) —Empowering parents and keeping families safe by requiring school boards to notify parents of safe storage requirements.
- HB1525 (Delegate Garrett McGuire) — Restoring universal background checks by closing the Lynchburg Loophole.
- HB901 (Delegate Rip Sullivan), SB495 (Senator Creigh Deeds) — Expanding the list of individuals eligible to petition for an emergency substantial risk order to make sure families and community members have the ability to intervene before a tragedy.
Photo: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, Feb. 24, 2026, in Williamsburg, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool, file)
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