Virginia Gun Sales Surge Ahead of July 1 Assault Weapons Ban

Gun stores across Virginia are struggling to keep shelves stocked as buyers race to purchase firearms ahead of a July 1 deadline, when a new ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines signed by Governor Abigail Spanberger takes effect. FBI data shows 75,376 background checks were conducted in Virginia in May 2026 alone — more than double the 37,167 recorded in May 2025, according to Fox News.

The Ban and Its Scope

Governor Spanberger signed Senate Bill 749 and House Bill 217 into law on May 14, 2026, banning the sale, purchase, import, manufacture, or transfer of “assault firearms” and ammunition magazines holding more than 15 rounds. Violations are classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, as reported by The Trace. The law grandfathers existing owners, meaning firearms legally owned before July 1 may be retained.

“Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,” Spanberger said in a statement upon signing the law. “We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.”

Buying Frenzy Grips Gun Stores

The surge in demand has been building for months. FBI data shows background checks have risen dramatically each month in 2026: 79,846 in March, 72,011 in April, and 75,376 in May. A total of 347,167 checks have been conducted through May, putting the state on track to exceed the 521,283 checks performed in all of 2025, according to Bearing Arms.

Gun store owners report unprecedented demand. Mark Moorefield, owner of L&M Firearms in Pittsylvania County, told WJLA/WSET that the ban would eliminate nearly 65% of his inventory and that sales are up nearly 500% from the same time last year.

“For the last, I’d say, three months, we’ve been running hard,” James Sprouse, manager at Ginger Mafia Tactical, told WDBJ-TV. “The second we get them in, they’re out the door.”

Trey Boyd, co-owner of Tactical Operations Vault, described selling out of AR-15 components weekly. “Firearms that have a magazine capacity of more than 15 rounds, we won’t be able to have anymore, which is a majority of your weapons nowadays,” Boyd said. “So it’s going to affect us big-time.”

Virginia recorded the fourth-highest gun sales of all 50 states in May 2026, behind Texas, Florida, and California, and was second in the nation for long gun sales specifically.

Legal Challenges Mount

Within 24 hours of Spanberger’s signature, five gun rights organizations — the NRA, Gun Owners of America, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Firearms Policy Coalition — filed lawsuits challenging the ban in both state and federal court, according to Blue State Blues News.

The Justice Department’s Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, also threatened to sue Virginia over the ban, posting “See you in court!” on X.

Prosecutors Refuse Enforcement

At least four Virginia commonwealth’s attorneys have publicly declared they will not enforce the ban, arguing it is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which established that gun regulations must be “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins Jr. wrote to local law enforcement: “I took an oath to uphold both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia. That oath requires more than mechanical enforcement of statutes. After careful review of the legislation and existing Supreme Court precedent, I find the assault weapon ban signed by the Governor on May 15, 2026, unconstitutional – and as a result, unenforceable.”

Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney Justin Griffith added: “I am not going to take law-abiding citizens as of June 30th, 2026, and criminalize that same behavior on July 1st, 2026, solely on the basis of this new law.”

Political and Historical Context

The ban represents a dramatic shift in Virginia’s gun policy landscape. Former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed the same assault weapons ban in both 2024 and 2025, along with 42 other gun reform bills during his term. Spanberger’s election in November 2025 gave Democrats a governing trifecta — control of the governorship, the Senate, and an expanded House majority — enabling the legislation to advance.

The current prosecutor defiance echoes the Second Amendment sanctuary movement of 2019-2020, when nearly 150 Virginia counties and localities declared they would not enforce new gun restrictions passed under then-Governor Ralph Northam.

What to Watch For

The outcome of multiple legal challenges — both in state and federal court — will determine whether the ban is enforced. Emergency injunctions could halt the law before the July 1 effective date. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has previously upheld assault weapons bans, ruling that AR-15s and other semi-automatic long guns fall outside the Second Amendment’s protections, but the new challenges also invoke Article 1, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution.

Meanwhile, the buying frenzy is expected to continue through June, with gun stores potentially running out of inventory entirely as Virginians rush to purchase firearms before the deadline.