LEGAL CHALLENGES TO VIRGINIA’S SWEEPING BAN OF “ASSAULT WEAPONS” AND “LARGE-CAPACITY” MAGAZINES
June 5, 2026 – After Governor Spanberger of Virginia signed SB749, gun owners, Second Amendment advocacy groups, firearm retailers, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (“NSSF”) have mounted legal challenges.
Several gun owners and retailers, backed by the NSSF, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB749 in the Virginia Circuit Court for Fauquier County, Black v. Hook. Plaintiffs in the Black case also filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction asking the Court to prohibit enforcement of the law while the litigation unfolds. The National Rifle Association (“NRA”), Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and two NRA members filed a similar lawsuit, McDonald v. Katz, in the United States District Court for the District of Virginia.
SB749 bans the possession, purchase, or sale of “assault weapons” and “large-capacity” magazines within the Commonwealth, beginning July 1, 2026. Of particular concern to plaintiffs is the extremely broad definition of “assault rifle” under the new law. SB749 bans, for example: any semi-automatic “rifle or pistol with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 15 rounds,” SB749 Sec. 18.2-308.2:2(F)(4)(1); a “rifle that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine” and one or more listed features, such as: a folding stock, pistol grip, a second hand grip, or a threaded barrel, id. (4)(2)(i-v); AR-style pistols, id. (4)(3)(i-iii); and a pistol with “a threaded barrel capable of accepting a sound suppressor,” id. (4)(3)(iv)(a).
As the plaintiffs in the Black case point out, the definition of “assault weapon” under SB749 could include “nearly every modern semiautomatic rifle,” “many semiautomatic pistols,” which are “among the weapons most commonly used today for self-defense,” and “many common shotguns . . . frequently used for hunting.” All the plaintiffs raise challenges under the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions, arguing that the new law violates the Second Amendment by banning firearms that are “unquestionably in common use for self-defense today.”
Aside from the litigation, many Virginia Commonwealth Attorneys have said that they do not plan to enforce SB749, creating even more confusion for the industry. The Commonwealth Attorney for Powhatan County, VA, apparently wrote to the Powhatan Sheriff’s Office that the ban places both offices “in an untenable position; we can either honor our oath to preserve the Constitution, or enforce statutes which are clearly unconstitutional.”
Plaintiffs in the Black case have requested a hearing date on their motion for a preliminary injunction before the July 1, 2026 effective date of the new legislation.
Renzulli Law Firm, LLP will continue to monitor new and developing firearms litigation around the country. If you have any questions concerning firearms-related litigation, please contact Christopher Renzulli.