Defending the Foundation | Article 3 of 8 | By Jeff Bayard | Virginia Christian Alliance
Virginia’s Second Amendment rights are under direct assault. Download our free in-depth constitutional brief — complete with SCOTUS case law, Virginia statute analysis, and exactly what you can do before April 13.
Second Amendment rights in Virginia are facing their most direct legislative challenge in a generation — and the clock is running. Imagine this: you are a law-abiding Virginia citizen. You have never been charged with a crime. You own a semi-automatic rifle — the most common type of firearm in America — purchased legally, stored responsibly, used for home defense or sport shooting. You have done nothing wrong.
Under HB 217, now sitting on Governor Gia Spanberger’s desk with a deadline of April 13, 2026, that rifle could make you a criminal. Not because of what you did with it. Because of what it is.
This is not hypothetical. This is Virginia law, days away.
What the Constitution Says About Second Amendment Rights
Notice what Virginia’s constitution adds that the federal version does not: it defines the militia as the body of the people, trained to arms. It warns against standing armies. It ties the right to bear arms directly to the defense of a free state. Virginia’s Second Amendment rights are not weaker than the federal standard — they are stronger. Richmond adopted that standard. Richmond is now violating it.
What the Founders Intended — And What the Supreme Court Confirmed
For decades, lower courts treated the Second Amendment as a collective right tied to militia service. The Supreme Court ended that argument in 2008.
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court held that the Second Amendment “protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” In 2010, McDonald v. City of Chicago incorporated that right against the states — meaning Virginia is bound by it.
Then came Bruen in 2022. The Supreme Court replaced the old interest-balancing test with a stricter standard: the government must show that any firearms restriction is “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” Not just reasonable. Not just popular. Historically grounded. That is now the constitutional floor — and Virginia’s new wave of gun laws was built before it.
What God Says About the Right of Self-Defense
The right of self-defense did not originate in Philadelphia in 1787. It is older than the republic. It is written into the created order.
In Exodus 22:2, God’s law recognized the right of a man to defend his home: “If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.” God here acknowledges that protecting your household from violent intrusion is not only permitted — it is righteous. The life of the innocent defender and those in his care is worth protecting.
In Nehemiah 4:17–18, the builders of Jerusalem’s wall worked with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other: “Each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built.” God’s people did not outsource their protection to government. They equipped themselves and they worked. That is not a relic of ancient Israel — it is a principle of human dignity under God’s design.
The right to bear arms is not a political preference. It is a Creator-endowed right rooted in the sanctity of human life and the God-given responsibility of every person to protect those in their care. Government does not grant that right. Government may not lawfully abolish it.
Virginia Right Now — What Richmond Has Already Done
Since 2020, the Virginia General Assembly has passed a significant wave of firearms restrictions that chip away at Second Amendment rights in Virginia one statute at a time. Each one affects ordinary, law-abiding Virginians:
Red Flag Law (§ 19.2-152.13): Any law enforcement officer or attorney for the Commonwealth may petition a court to have your firearms seized — without a criminal charge, without a conviction, without a jury. The standard is “probable cause” that you pose a “substantial risk.” You may not even be present when the initial order is issued. This is a civil proceeding that carries the consequences of a criminal one. Universal Background Checks (§ 18.2-308.2:5): Private sales between law-abiding citizens now require a government background check run through a licensed dealer. The transaction between a grandfather and his grandson is now subject to state approval. One Handgun Per Month (§ 18.2-308.2:2(R)): Virginia law limits most handgun purchases to one per 30-day period. A violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Certain exceptions apply — but not for the average citizen.
Get the complete analysis: SCOTUS case law from Heller through Rahimi, full Virginia statute breakdown, the Bruen test applied to Virginia’s laws, and specific action steps.
Why HB 217 Should Alarm Every Virginia Gun Owner
HB 217, passed by the General Assembly and enrolled to Governor Spanberger on March 31, 2026, creates a new crime: importing, selling, manufacturing, purchasing, or transferring an “assault firearm” — defined as any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol equipped with a magazine holding more than 20 rounds, designed to accommodate a silencer, or equipped with a folding stock. A companion provision bans the sale of any magazine holding more than 15 rounds.
Both violations are Class 1 misdemeanors. A conviction strips your firearm rights for three years.
Governor Spanberger has three options before 11:59 p.m. on April 13, 2026: she can sign it into law, veto it and return it to the General Assembly with objections, or do nothing — in which case it becomes law automatically at the deadline without her signature. There is no fourth option. There are no revisions, no negotiations, no do-overs. By April 13, this is either law or it is not.
This is not targeting criminals. Criminals do not comply with magazine capacity laws. This is targeting the law-abiding citizen who bought a standard-configuration rifle at a Virginia gun store, followed every rule, and now faces prosecution for possession under a definition that did not exist last year.
Under Bruen‘s historical-tradition test, the government must now demonstrate that magazine capacity restrictions and semi-automatic bans are rooted in America’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. They are not. They are modern inventions with no founding-era analogue. The constitutional challenge to HB 217 — if Spanberger signs it or allows it to lapse into law — begins immediately.
Second Amendment Rights and the November 2026 Stakes
Every Virginia legislator who voted for HB 217, the red flag law, the handgun purchase limit, and the universal background check requirement is on the ballot in November 2026. This is not abstract. These are named votes on recorded roll calls. Voters in every district in Virginia can look up exactly how their senator and delegate voted — and they should.
Second Amendment rights in Virginia do not belong to a political party. They belong to the people — endowed by their Creator, confirmed by the Framers, incorporated against the states by the Supreme Court, and protected by a Virginia constitution that is older and stronger than the federal one. When Richmond acts as though those protections do not exist, it is the job of Virginia voters to remind them otherwise.
Rights come from God. Governments are instituted to protect them. When government instead becomes the threat — when the man with no criminal record, no charge, and no conviction finds himself the target of laws designed for criminals — something has gone deeply wrong. And Virginia citizens have the power, at the ballot box, to correct it.
Your Virginia Senator and Delegate voted on every bill named in this article. Look up their votes — then contact them before April 13.
Find My Virginia Senator →Find My Virginia Delegate →Contact Governor Spanberger →
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