Does Virginia Have an Assault Weapons Ban?

Virginia enacted SB 749 and HB 217 in 2026. Code section 18.2-308.2:2 defines an assault firearm through feature-based criteria: a detachable-magazine semiautomatic centerfire rifle is covered with one of a folding, telescoping, or collapsible stock, a protruding pistol grip or thumbhole stock, a second handgrip, a grenade launcher, or a threaded barrel that accepts a muzzle brake, compensator, suppressor, or flash suppressor, and pistols and shotguns have their own criteria. Section 18.2-287.4:1 bars import, sale, manufacture, purchase, and transfer rather than ordinary possession of firearms lawfully purchased and possessed before July 1, 2026.

Hanover County's Commonwealth's Attorney reports that two Virginia circuit-court injunctions block enforcement and that the Washington County Circuit Court's injunction has applied statewide since July 21, 2026. In August 2026 the state-court challenges and a federal case were stayed pending the Supreme Court's AR-15 cases. Separate 2026 legislation restricting public carry of certain firearms had its effective date delayed to July 1, 2027.

There has been no federal assault weapons ban since the 1994 ban expired in 2004; no feature restrictions apply federally to semi-automatic rifles or pistols. The 2023 ATF pistol-brace rule was vacated by the courts and is not enforced, but federal SBR classification for a brace-equipped firearm still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder. Garland v. Cargill (2024) held that a bump stock is not a machine gun under federal law. Feature bans are entirely a matter of state law.

Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. Scope: State laws restricting semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns by configuration features: threaded barrels, pistol grips, folding or telescoping stocks, flash suppressors, forward grips, and similar. Magazine capacity limits are tracked as a separate class.