The lawmaking body held its yearly Reconvened Session recently, a gathering that generally serves as an opportunity to revisit instances in which the governor exercised the veto pen. That’s exactly what transpired in 2024, and it was to the benefit of law-abiding citizens.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) watched last week as the General Assembly took up measures that he vetoed or amended.
Despite the majority voting in favor of new restrictions on gun rights, not one single veto was overturned. A glance at the proposed new laws quickly reveals how thankful gun owners should be for checks and balances.
SB and HB2 intended to ban the sale of most sporting rifles commonly known as semi-automatic rifles. Gun rights opponents mislabel them as “assault weapons,” and they are under attack in several states.
The bill would also have banned standard capacity ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. This would impact a large swath of Virginia residents as these attachments are extremely common. A recent report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) revealed a staggering 717 million of these magazines are currently in circulation in the U.S.
Also failing to gain new life were SB 273 and HB 1195. These would have instituted a five-day waiting period for citizens to exercise their legal right to purchase or transfer a weapon.
SB 327 would have stripped much of the right to keep and bear arms from upstanding young adults. The 18-20 age group would be barred from purchasing certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
SB 491 and HB 318 took dead aim at the firearms industry. Copycatting a recent trend of states attempting to rip away federal liability protections, this measure was meant to target those who engage in sales, manufacturing, importation, distribution or marketing of weapons and related products.
This is a blatant attempt to countermand the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCCA), which was enacted some two decades ago to safeguard the constitutionally protected industry from exactly such encroachments.
HB 351 meant to prohibit the sale or transfer of a firearm from a licensed dealer to a purchaser who resides in the same household with a child unless they also buy a locking device. If the prospective purchaser does not share a residence with a child, they would be required to complete a statement affirming this fact.
This would be a redundancy as manufacturers already ship free locking devices with every weapon. Plus, federal law stipulates that licensed firearm dealers feature these locking systems for sale and provide one with every handgun transfer.
HB 585, for lack of a better term, was simply silly. It stipulated that licensed dealers who operate out of their homes could not reside within 1.5 miles of an elementary or middle school.
This is arbitrary and meaningless, and Youngkin’s veto pen saved many of these entrepreneurs from being forced out of business.
And HB 1174 intended to stretch the classification of “assault weapons” and ban many of these popular rifles from being sold to a purchaser under 21. Further, the minimum age to buy a handgun would be raised to 21 in Virginia.
This measure directly contradicted a judge’s recent ruling that young adults may not be prohibited from purchasing a pistol.
As currently constructed, the Virginia state government faces a standoff on gun rights. It is certain that Second Amendment opponents will use the next legislative session to again attempt to push through new laws to suppress these freedoms.
But for now, one man’s veto pen and a minority in the Assembly who stood for the Bill of Rights were enough.
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