RICHMOND, Va. — Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging Virginia's new law creating restrictions around assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, hours after Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed it into law Thursday night.
Under the law, set to take effect July 1, Virginia will no longer allow the making, sale, or purchase of assault weapons (with some exceptions) or magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. People who already own those items will be allowed to keep them and can transfer them to immediate family members.
“I am signing this bill into law because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets. We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe,” Spanberger said in a statement Thursday night.
The law defines assault firearms in a number of ways and includes semi-automatic rifles, pistols, or shotguns if they have certain characteristics.
The lawmakers behind the legislation say they worked towards this moment for years, having had it vetoed by former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
"I can finally tell them, you know, we did what we said we were going to do," said Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax), one of the bill's sponsors, referring to people he spoke to on the campaign trail when he first ran for office in 2023.
"I am so excited that we have a governor who has signed this bill," added the bill's other sponsor, Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax). "Weapons similar to those I carried in Iraq and Afghanistan have no place in our streets, in our communities."
But within hours of the bill being signed, multiple groups announced they had filed lawsuits in state and federal court, saying the law violates the Second Amendment.
"We're ready to take on every avenue possible to make sure that this law gets blocked and that Virginia citizens have the right to keep and bear arms," said Justin Davis, director of public affairs for the National Rifle Association.
The NRA was a part of a federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. Davis said previous rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court protect firearms that are in common use and the definitions in this bill are too broad.
"And that's the big problem here, is that there's so many models of firearms — from your standard turkey hunting shotgun that has a pistol grip on it, because it's a semi-automatic shotgun to, of course, AR-15, to even Ruger 10/22s, which pretty much everybody grows up with a first plinking rifle," said Davis. "Any semi-automatic weapon can be made into this, quote, unquote, arbitrary definition of an assault weapon. So, you know, this is something that is not just an attack on certain style of firearms, it's an attack on all firearms."
Spanberger had offered amendments to the bill that she said were meant to "provide additional clarity to law enforcement" and protect "certain semi-automatic shotguns used for hunting", but they were rejected by lawmakers.
"We have to be clear with our language to ensure that something like a turkey hunting rifle, which — it was arguably when I reviewed the bill whether or not there could be an accidental ability to loop in turkey hunting rifles or rifles that are commonly used for turkey hunting into that definition," Spanberger said an at April 15, 2026 event when asked about her amendments. "That's a place where I wanted to make sure we weren't accidentally by virtue of imprecise language, pulling in firearms that have a clear a clear purpose, and we know it is recreational, and we don't want to get in way of that."
"We knew she would sign it no matter what, either way. But even she and her own office admit that this is a bad bill, and so we're excited to take that on in court," Davis said of the amendments.
The bill's sponsors say they expected legal challenges and looked at the previous federal ban and what has and hasn't worked in other states to write what they feel is the most defensible version in court.
"I worked with folks in the legal community to ensure that what we passed does stick and the courts are going to come out and say, 'You know what? They actually did this in the right way. This is not infringing on anyone else's rights while still trying to protect other people's rights'," said Salim. "The Commonwealth of Virginia waits to see what the courts do, and then we go in there and we said, 'Actually, we're going to do it the right way'."
"We are very aware of the challenges and making sure you craft a bill narrowly, appropriately and constitutionally, we are very confident about that," Helmer said. "We feel very confident in the constitutionality of the bill that we have passed and the impact that it is going to have on our communities, keeping them safer from gun violence."
In response to the lawsuits, Attorney General Jay Jones said his team looks forward to defending this law and others that "make Virginians safer".
"Every community deserves protection from violence. We will use every tool available to uphold the law fairly, responsibly, and with an unwavering commitment to public safety," Jones added.
Click here to read the lawsuit filed in Washington County Circuit Court by Middletown Training, Middletown Firearms, Virginia Pride and Virginia Shooting Sports Association.
Click here to read the lawsuit filed in Lancaster County Circuit Court by Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Virginia Citizens Defense League and Virginia Citizens Defense Foundation.
Click here to read the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by the NRA, Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation.
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