Virginia Democrats Take Office, Immediately Set Sights on Second Amendment

The Virginia Democrats who were elected to office in 2025 have now been sworn in and the Second Amendment is under fire.

On January 10, 2026, Breitbart News noted that Democrats had introduced a $500 tax on suppressor sales in the state and an “assault weapons” ban.

By Thursday, January 15, 2026, the NRA-ILA pointed out Democrats had introduced HB 919, which creates an across-the-board, 11 percent excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition.

HB 916 was also introduced, “[expanding] the curriculum requirements for Virginia concealed carry permit classes,” and HB 901, which broadens the state’s red flag law.

HB 700 has also been put forward and it will create a mandatory five-day waiting period for gun purchases. HB 871 creates storage requirements for firearms in the state, mandating that a “firearm and the ammunition for such firearm in a locked container, compartment, or cabinet that is inaccessible” to any “minor or prohibited person” present in the home.

Virginia Democrats are zeroing in on the Second Amendment in much the same way that Colorado Democrats did in 2013.

Since 2013, Coloradans’ exercise of Second Amendment has been incrementally restricted year after year, and those restrictions include an excise tax on gun and ammo sales, an “assault weapons” ban, a ban on magazine capacity size, a red flag law, a three-day waiting period on gun sales, and universal background checks, among other controls.

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 and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.