Ban on ‘Assault Rifles,’ Suppressors Being Weighed in U.S. Virgin Islands

A ban on “assault rifles,” “large-capacity” magazines, and suppressors is before the U.S. Virgin Islands’ legislature in the form of Bill 36-0144.

The St. Thomas Source reported that Bill 36-0144 is designed to “define and prohibit assault rifles.”

The bill would also “ban suppressors and silencers, and [require] safety training for licensed rifles [sic] and shotgun holders; [prohibit] large-capacity magazines and [prevent] the illegal sales of firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition.”

Information from the ATF indicated the U.S. Virgin Islands already has stringent gun controls, including a licensing requirement that impacts ammunition possession as well as guns.

For example, a person who is not in the business of selling guns cannot sell or possess ammunition unless they hold a valid firearms license for a gun that is either the same gauge or the same caliber of the ammunition they want to possess.

Moreover, the U.S. Virgin Islands has an “Office of Gun Violence Prevention,” which has a Ten Point Plan that begins with, “Treat gun violence as a health epidemic.”

Gun Owners of America’s Luis Valdes reacted to the proposed ban on “assault rifles,” “large-capacity” magazines, and suppressors, with an X post, writing, “The Second Amendment protects ALL Americans’ gun rights—including those in the USVI [U.S. Virgin Islands].”

He also warned of the confiscatory nature of Bill 36-0144, making clear Gun Owners of America “will not stand on the sidelines” while this bill is being pushed.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.