You’ve already read here about the passage of Virginia SB 749, which now awaits Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s signature in order to ban the sale, import, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of “assault firearms,” along with the same restrictions on magazines that can hold 15 rounds or more. This is a backdoor attempt to outlaw the AR-15 in the state.
But that one piece of gun control legislation was only a piece of the larger mosaic of recent and pressing attacks on Virginians’ Second Amendment rights. The Virginia legislature and Spanberger have been very busy trying to take away their constituents’ constitutional freedoms.
The legislature has also passed other legislation that includes HB 21, which will establish certain standards for what is considered “responsible conduct” for the firearms industry. This includes efforts to prevent theft, “straw purchases,” and illegal forms of marketing. The House passed HB 229, which bans guns in hospitals that offer mental health or developmental services. It also passed HB 626, which reduces the number of exemptions that apply to people who carry guns in state-owned facilities and on university campuses.
It passed HB 871, which mandates that guns be under lock and key in houses where “minors or prohibited persons are present.” It passed HB 40, which restricts “ghost guns” and plastic guns. It passed HB 93, which is designed to make it harder to transfer guns when someone subject to protective orders is involved.
And then there is HB 110, which introduces the idea that civil penalties can be imposed on persons who leave handguns in a visible place in an unattended car, truck, or van.
There is something you need to know about HB 110. Section 1-G of the bill has some interesting language that says it all about whether politicians feel they should be subject to the same laws they create for you. It states:
“The provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly who leaves a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle… when such vehicle is parked in any parking structure reserved for members of the General Assembly.”
Virginia Democrats just rammed through HB 110—criminal penalties for YOU if you leave a handgun in an unattended car without locking it up tight.
But Subsection G? “The provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly” in their fancy Capitol… pic.twitter.com/uc057HVOsA
— Colton Elsen (@thecoltonelsen) March 16, 2026
In other words, the rules that apply to you when it comes to visibly leaving a weapon in an unattended vehicle will not apply to House and Senate members.
The fact that someone may be foolish enough to commit such a careless act is one thing. But when state legislators actually anticipate this and knowingly decide to do so well in advance to make it legal for them and not for you, it is mind-boggling and disgusting at the same time.
The same people who just passed one of the most severe gun control packages in the history of the state of Virginia and the country just gave themselves an exception when it comes to leaving a handgun in a car.
The package of legislation is a massive overreach and a massive assault on the Second Amendment. Rep. Tom Garrett (R-56th District) spelled it out pretty clearly when speaking to other members.
Virginia Rep Tom Garrett LOSES IT on Virginia Democrats for attempting to make almost all gun owners criminals with their new bill
“I literally wondered if we were being pranked when I read the words in this bill”
“This bill would prevent people in Virginia from carrying on any… pic.twitter.com/Tx3UNI25av
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 14, 2026
Garrett said, “The government did not give me the right to defend myself, to defend my family, or to defend my freedom…(and it) cannot take it away, try though it may.”
Related: ‘Moderate’ Gov. Abigail Spanberger Expected to Sign Sweeping Gun Ban Into Law
Second Amendment lawyers will have their work cut out for them in trying to take this to the U.S. Supreme Court. It seems the Democrats have flooded the zone with so many gun control laws that to try to undo them piece by piece could take multiple cases and a good deal of time.
Still, Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore seemed to feel that the Supreme Court would eventually correct the critical wrongs incorporated into much of this legislation, pointing to the court’s Bruen decision. He referred to the legislation as “a lawyer’s dream” and went further to predict that some of these laws could come back to bite the Democrats. He said court cases that challenge these new laws could lead to a Supreme Court decision that will specifically protect the weapons and equipment restricted under some of these state laws.
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