RETRACTION — April 20, 2026
This article was based on the conference report for HB 110 (document 26109411D, March 14, 2026), which contained a Subsection G exempting General Assembly members from the Capitol Square firearms ban and a parking garage exemption from the vehicle storage requirements. That conference report was a real legislative document, and the language we quoted was accurate to that document.
However, the enrolled version of HB 110 that Governor Spanberger signed into law as Chapter 560 does not contain those provisions. The final enrolled text (HB110ER) only adds § 18.2-308.7:1 — the vehicle storage requirement. It does not amend § 18.2-283.2, does not contain Subsection G, and does not include any legislative exemption or Capitol Square parking garage carve-out.
Here is what happened: on March 14, 2026, the first conference report containing the legislative exemption was approved by the House (60-36) and the Senate. The Senate then requested a second conference committee (20-18), which produced a new conference report that stripped the exemption language. The second conference report — without Subsection G — was approved by the House (60-37) and Senate (21-18), and that is the version that was enrolled and signed into law.
The legislative exemption was proposed, drafted into a conference report, and voted on by both chambers. The intent to place legislators above the law they wrote for every other Virginian was real — and the votes are on the record. But the exemption did not survive into the final law. The central claim of this article — that the exemption became law — was wrong.
We got this wrong. The law as signed applies equally to all Virginians, with exceptions only for law enforcement, antique firearms, and theft reporting. We retract this article’s core argument and apologize for the error.
The enrolled text can be verified at: lis.virginia.gov — HB110ER
— Jeff Bayard, Virginia Christian Alliance
HB 110 Creates a New Crime for You — and a Carve-Out for Them
By Jeff Bayard
Virginia Christian Alliance
Two Virginians. Two Handguns. One Law.
Imagine this scenario: The Walmart parking lot on Midlothian Turnpike is half-empty at 9:47pm. A man named David walks out with two bags of groceries, his boots scuffing across wet asphalt. He’s a deacon at his church, a grandfather. His Glock 19 is in the glove compartment — unlocked, the way he’s kept it for twelve years. The car doors are locked. The handgun is out of sight. But the glove box opens with one motion, no fumbling for a second key. That’s the point.
Halfway across the lot, he sees it. A dark sedan idling near his truck, windows down, two figures watching him. The vehicle wasn’t there when he went inside. As he gets closer, the sedan pulls forward and cuts across his path. Both doors open. Two men step out. One shouts something. They’re moving toward him fast.
David taps his key fob. The locks chirp open. He slides in, pulls the door shut, hits the lock, and opens the glove compartment. One second. The Glock is in his hand. He holds it where they can see it. The two men stop. They look at each other. They get back in the sedan and peel out of the lot.
David calls 911. He’s shaking but unharmed. The police arrive, take his statement, confirm no shots were fired. The officers tell him he did the right thing. Then one of them notices the open glove box. He points. “Was that locked or unlocked?” “Unlocked,” David says. The officer pauses. He writes David a citation — Class 4 misdemeanor, violation of § 18.2-308.7:1. The handgun wasn’t in a locked hard-sided container. His locked car doors don’t count under the new law.
Had that glove box been locked — the way HB 110 requires — David would have been fumbling for a second key while two men closed the distance. He’d have been robbed, or worse.
Instead, David drives home with his groceries, his Glock, and a criminal charge for being prepared to defend his life.
Now meet Delegate Marcus.
Now imagine this: Marcus voted yes on HB 110. He gave a floor speech about responsible gun storage and keeping communities safe. This morning, running late for the session, he tossed his loaded handgun on the passenger seat of his car and jogged into the Pocahontas Building. His car sits in the legislative parking garage — doors unlocked, handgun in plain view on the leather seat.
At 2:15pm, a Capitol grounds worker notices the car door ajar. The handgun is gone. Stolen off the seat of an unlocked car on government property. A firearm that Delegate Marcus voted to make you lock in a hard-sided container is now in the hands of someone who walked into a parking garage and took it.
Under HB 110, Delegate Marcus committed no crime. The storage rules don’t apply to him. The Capitol Square firearms ban doesn’t apply to him. He carved himself out of every provision he imposed on David.
David has a criminal record. Marcus has an exemption. The stolen gun is on the street.
What the Law Actually Says
HB 110 was signed by Governor Abbie Spanberger on April 13, 2026 — Chapter 560, effective July 1. It requires every Virginian who leaves a handgun in an unattended vehicle to place it out of plain view in a locked hard-sided container. Violation is a Class 4 misdemeanor. Before this law, no Virginian faced criminal charges for how they stored a handgun in an unattended vehicle.
Buried in the conference report, added on the last day of session, are two exemptions:
§ 18.2-283.2(G) exempts General Assembly members from the Capitol Square firearms ban when leaving a handgun in their vehicle in the legislative parking garage.
§ 18.2-308.7:1(C)(iii) exempts vehicles in the Capitol parking structure from the locked-container storage requirements.
The House passed this 60-37. The Senate followed 21-18. Eighty-one legislators voted to exempt themselves from the crime they created for every other Virginian. The Governor signed it.
The Pattern
In my series on Virginia’s gun laws — SB749, the Anti-Police Triple Threat, and Virginia’s Perfect Storm — I’ve documented how Virginia Democrats have inverted Romans 13: government exists to punish evil and protect the innocent. Instead, Virginia has dulled the sword against criminals, targeted the sword-bearers, and disarmed the citizens.
HB 110 completes the architecture with a fourth tier: legislators above the law, police armed by exemption, citizens criminalized, criminals unaffected.
Proverbs 11:1: “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.” When lawmakers write gun restrictions and exempt themselves, the balance is false. God calls it an abomination.
Ezekiel 34:2: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!” Virginia’s political shepherds feed themselves while the flock is criminalized for trying to defend their own families.
What You Can Do
Share this article. Most Virginians will never read the enrolled text of HB 110. Hold your legislators accountable — find yours at virginiageneralassembly.gov. And pray that God would expose this hypocrisy to every Virginian.
Jeff Bayard serves as Content Manager for Virginia Christian Alliance, providing analysis of legislation and cultural issues from a biblical worldview.
VERIFY IT YOURSELF
HB 110 Enrolled Text (See Subsection G): lis.virginia.gov
Track HB 110: lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB110
Virginia Christian Alliance: vachristian.org
RELATED
- SB749: Will Virginia Disarm the Righteous While Criminals Stay Armed?
- Virginia’s Anti-Police Triple Threat: HB1314, HB7, and HB863
- Virginia’s Perfect Storm: How One-Party Rule Threatens Life, Liberty, and Law Enforcement
Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
