Here are the gun-control bills:

HB 19, Delegate McClure, makes battery in a “dating relationship” a misdemeanor and takes away the right to purchase, possess, or transport a firearm for three years.

HB 21, Delegate Helmer, allows one of the most highly regulated industries, the firearm industry, to be sued civilly for a variety of already illegal actions.  It also holds the manufacturers and sellers of even the most benign of firearm accessories, like a butt stock or a gun case, liable to a civil lawsuit if it doesn’t “properly” protect that item from theft or misuse by a criminal. 

HB 40, Delegate Simon, makes unfinished firearm frames and receivers and un-serialized commercially made firearms unlawful to possess, purchase, sell, or transfer unless they are serialized. 

HB 93, Delegate Bennett-Parker, requires a person with a protective order against them or a person with a domestic violence conviction to surrender, sell, or turn their guns over to someone 21-years-old or older and someone who does not live with them.  It requires the person to be advised that if a police officer believes they have not turned over all their guns, that the officer can get a search warrant to look for any such guns.

HB 110, Delegate Laufer, creates a $500 civil penalty and subjects a vehicle to towing if a person leaves a visible handgun in an unattended vehicle.

HB 217, Delegate Helmer, prohibits the sale, possession, transfer, and transport of an “assault firearm” made on or after July 1, 2026.  It also prohibits sale, possession, transfer, and transport of an “assault firearm” to anyone under the age of 21.  Magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and were made on or after July 1, 2026, are prohibited. 

HB 229, Delegate Hernandez, prohibits firearms, or knives with a blade longer than 3.5 inches, in facilities that provide mental health services or developmental services, including hospitals, emergency departments, or emergency medical care facilities, if they offer such services.

HB 626, Delegate Callsen, restricts firearms at public institutions of higher education by requiring such firearms be part of an authorized program or activity inside a building.

HB 702, Delegate Cole, creates a “Virginia Firearm Give-Back Program and Fund.”

HB 871, Delegate Downey, requires all firearms in a home, that are not being carried on or about a person, to be unloaded and placed in a locked container if there is a minor in the home or if there is a prohibited person in the home. A gun may only be stored loaded if it is in a biometric safe.  Gun dealers must post signage about the law and there is also a provision to educate the public on firearm storage. 

HB 969, Delegate Price, creates a state agency named the Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center. 

HB 1359, Delegate Hope, requires a person to have a permit to purchase a firearm (“permit”), which is good for 5 years. To qualify for a permit, the applicant must have had his fingerprints taken and have had firearms training within the last two years.  The training must be approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services and include live fire of at least 10 rounds.  Persons under 21-years-old cannot apply for a permit and are thus prohibited from buying firearms.  A person renting a gun, persons with dual residency, and out of state residents purchasing long guns must have a permit.  In a private sale, the purchaser must have a verified permit.  The State Police can charge whatever fee they feel covers their cost in processing the permit application and can take as long as 45 days to issue the permit. Local law enforcement will be notified that you have been issued or denied a permit.  This bill adds new misdemeanor prohibitors from getting a permit.  The bill also removes the exemption from One Handgun a Month by CHP holders. 

The pro-gun bill:

HB 1303, Delegate Ware, sets 90 days as the maximum number of days that the Virginia State Police can take when processing a non-resident concealed handgun permit. If the permit has not yet been approved after 90 days, then the permit is issued at that point.  If the applicant is later found to be disqualified, the permit is revoked, and the applicant has to return it.  Currently there is no limit and people have had to wait well over 6 to 8 months to get a permit issued!  In fact, in June of 2021 the State Police had this on their website: "DUE TO A HIGH VOLUME OF APPLICATIONS, THE CURRENT PROCESSING TIME FOR NONRESIDENT CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMITS IS 5 TO 6 MONTHS." No other state that issues non-resident permits has an unlimited time to do so!  The maximum time for other states to issue a non-resident permit runs from 14 days to 90 days.  As a reference, residents pay a maximum of $50 and the permit must be issued in 45 days.  The non-resident permit fee is $100.  90 days is more than sufficient for the State Police to issue a non-resident permit. Currently the State Police are issuing non-resident permits in less than 90 days, but it is important to set some kind of limit.