Your pistol is now an assault weapon in Virginia

The bottom line

Governor Spanberger signed SB749 into law on May 14, 2026. Starting July 1, Virginia makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to buy, sell, manufacture, import, or transfer a broad category of semi-automatic firearms, including pistols that millions of Virginians own for home defense, carry, and competition today. You are grandfathered in on what you already own, but the window to buy is now roughly six weeks.

---

This article is based on analysis from Bearing Freedom. Watch the original video. This is commentary, not legal advice.

---

Virginia is now the 11th state to pass some form of assault weapons ban, and I think it might be the one that finally creates the circuit split that sends this issue back to the Supreme Court. Before that happens, though, gun owners in the commonwealth need to understand what this law actually does, because there’s real confusion online about which firearms it covers and which it doesn’t.

SB749 is bad. Not quite as bad as what Spanberger originally wanted, but still a sweeping prohibition on common firearms protected by the Second Amendment. The pistol provisions are getting almost no attention online, and that’s the part that should worry people most.

What the law actually says

SB749’s enrolled text defines six categories of “assault firearm” subject to the purchase-and-sale ban. The one that will catch the most people off guard is the semi-automatic center-fire pistol provision.

A pistol is classified as an assault firearm if it accepts a detachable magazine and has two or more of the following features: a second handgrip or protruding grip for the non-trigger hand; the capacity to accept a magazine that attaches outside of the pistol grip; a barrel shroud that permits the shooter to hold the pistol without being burned; a threaded barrel capable of accepting a suppressor, flash suppressor, barrel extender, or forward handgrip; or a buffer tube, arm brace, or similar part designed to allow firing from the shoulder.

A threaded barrel and a barrel shroud. That’s it. Two features that are standard on a large share of the competition and home-defense pistol market, and any pistol that has both plus a detachable magazine is now an “assault firearm” in Virginia.

Which pistols are swept in

A stock Glock 17, a Sig P320 in its factory configuration, a standard M&P. None of those hit two listed features, so they’re not banned. Spanberger wanted to change that. Her proposed amendment would have struck the word “fixed” from a separate provision, which would have effectively banned any pistol capable of accepting a magazine over 15 rounds. That’s almost every full-size service pistol sold in America. The Virginia General Assembly rejected that amendment during the reconvened session in April, and the enrolled text keeps the narrower two-feature threshold.

Spanberger signed the bill anyway, then said publicly she would “work with the patrons to clarify the language.” She signed a law she considers too narrow and complained about it publicly while signing it. She’s on record saying this law bans firearms “frequently used for hunting.” That’s lawful, common use, and that statement is going to show up in every brief challengers file.

Now, what does actually get swept in on the pistol side? The CZ Shadow 2, one of the most popular competition pistols in the country, has a barrel weight system that may implicate the barrel shroud provision. The Walther PDP comes in threaded-barrel variants. The HK VP9 Tactical ships with a threaded barrel. The Ruger-57 has a threaded barrel and accepts magazines outside the grip. Any of these in a full-featured configuration, combined with one more listed feature, is banned.

I think the two-feature test catches somewhere around 15 to 20 percent of the pistol market. Not exotic weapons. These are the pistols people actually buy for USPSA matches and home defense. And Spanberger also signed HB217 this week, which bans carrying assault firearms in public places. If SB749 reclassifies the pistol you carry as an assault firearm, you now have two separate legal problems.

The penalties

A first violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Under Virginia law, that carries up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. The provision that doesn’t get enough attention: a conviction also strips your right to purchase, possess, or transport any firearm for three years from the date of conviction. Not just assault firearms. Any firearm. You can lose your entire collection of legal guns because you tried to buy one that crossed the line after July 1.

Possession of firearms you owned before July 1 remains legal. There is no registration requirement, and no confiscation mechanism in SB749. But the sale, transfer, purchase, manufacture, or import of a covered weapon after that date is prohibited.

Four sets of lawyers already filed suit

By the close of business on May 15, there were already multiple federal and state lawsuits.

The highest-profile is McDonald v. Katz, filed in federal court by the Second Amendment Foundation, the National Rifle Association, and the Firearms Policy Coalition. The plaintiffs are represented by David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper & Kirk, the same firm that litigated Bruen before the Supreme Court. That’s not an accident.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation funded a second suit the same day: Black v. Hook, in the Circuit Court of Fauquier County. The plaintiffs are two Virginia residents and three Virginia firearms retailers. Their state-court complaint argues SB749 violates both Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution and the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. GOA and VCDL have also filed separately.

The core argument across all of these is the same one Heller and Bruen support: these firearms are in common use for lawful purposes, and no historical tradition exists of prohibiting ordinary citizens from purchasing standard semi-automatic pistols because they have a threaded barrel and a barrel shroud. Virginia has no answer to that argument. Spanberger already admitted it by complaining the bill went too far in banning hunting guns.

The Fourth Circuit problem

These cases hit the Fourth Circuit before they go anywhere else, and the Fourth Circuit is not a friendly venue. In Bianchi v. Brown, the en banc court upheld Maryland’s assault weapons ban 10-5 in 2024, ruling that AR-15s and similar rifles fall outside Second Amendment protection because they’re “military-style weapons.” That reasoning is wrong under Bruen and Heller, and multiple Supreme Court justices have signaled they think so too, but it’s still the law of the circuit right now.

The best near-term outcome for Virginians is a preliminary injunction. The Cooper & Kirk team and the breadth of SB749’s pistol provisions give challengers a real argument on both irreparable harm and likelihood of success on the merits. Without an injunction, Virginia gun owners are living under this for at least two or three years while it works through the federal courts.

I think we win eventually. Spanberger handed opponents their best argument when she went on record complaining that the General Assembly didn’t narrow the bill enough. She admitted the law bans firearms in common lawful use. That’s the Heller test. You can’t unsay it.

What Virginia gun owners should do right now

You have until July 1, about six weeks. If you already own a pistol with two or more listed features, you’re grandfathered in, so keep it. If you’ve been thinking about a threaded-barrel pistol, a competition gun with a barrel weight, or any configuration that might hit the two-feature threshold, buy it now while the purchase is still legal.

Go to your FFL and be specific. Walk through the feature list with them. Dealers in Virginia are going to be very busy between now and July 1, so don’t wait.

What got signed is unconstitutional on its face under any honest reading of Bruen and Heller. The Senate at least stopped Spanberger from making it worse. But what’s law now is still bad, and the people fighting it have already started.