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Virginia Democrats have sent a sweeping gun-control package to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk, while West Virginia lawmakers are debating the opposite approach — a proposal that would allow residents to lawfully obtain machine guns.
The dueling efforts highlight how sharply gun policy is diverging across the old Virginia border. More than 160 years after West Virginia split from Virginia during the Civil War, the two states are again charting very different political paths — with Democrats in Richmond advancing new firearm restrictions while Republicans in Charleston explore expanding Second Amendment rights.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signaled she looks forward to “reviewing” the sweeping firearms ban from state Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Dunn Loring, when it reaches her desk next week.
“As the mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools and a former federal law enforcement officer who carried a gun every day, Governor Spanberger knows how important it is to make sure kids and families are safe,” Spanberger’s office said in a statement to Richmond’s ABC affiliate.
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“The governor is grateful for the efforts of legislators and advocates to address gun violence in Virginia communities, and she looks forward to reviewing all legislation that comes to her desk.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s office to ask whether she plans to sign Salim’s bill but did not receive a response before publication.
The push comes as the political landscape in the two states continues to diverge. Republicans dominate West Virginia’s legislature with 31-2 and 91-9 supermajorities, and the Mountain State is one of just two states — along with Oklahoma — with no Democrat-majority counties. Democrats, meanwhile, strengthened their hold on Virginia’s government in 2025 and captured the governor’s mansion.
The assault weapons ban was introduced in January at the very start of the expanded Democratic majority’s rule in Richmond. Salim told FairfaxNow that there are “so many assault weapons in circulation” and that his bill will “gradually” take them off the street but stop short of retroactively criminalizing possession of any of the slew of newly-categorized “assault weapons.”
The Bangladesh-born lawmaker has also questioned how schools can remain safe spaces for children without requiring active-shooter drills.
His proposal would ban a wide range of firearms and features, including semi-automatic center-fire pistols with magazines exceeding 15 rounds, rifles with detachable magazines and weapons with certain characteristics such as collapsible or thumbhole stocks and threaded barrels.
The scope of the proposed restrictions drew criticism from Republican lawmakers.
State Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, assembled a mashup video of Virginia Democrats describing the need for the bill, captioning the clip: “Clueless Confident Dangerous and still writing the law.”
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“On this list, pretty much everything is a bad firearm,” said state Sen. Bill Stanley Jr., R-Rocky Mount. “We should stop harming the people who are law-abiding citizens, especially in my region.”
During floor debate, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, said: “The only way you can see if something has a threaded barrel or not is to look inside it. Your assault rifle with its telescopes and tripods and lasers and everything else. . . .”
Stanley responded by reminding lawmakers that “millions of Virginians own firearms” and “billions of pieces of ammunition.”
“If we were the problem, you would know about it,” he said, as debate veered into quips about “turkey rifles” — a phrase that quickly circulated on X — before Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Orange, said it was “evident” that Democrats “have a hard time understanding [gun] nomenclature.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Surovell for comment.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of the Allegheny Front, lawmakers were instead debating how best to expand the Second Amendment rights of Mountaineers.
West Virginia State Sens. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, and Zachary Maynard, R-Chapmanville, drafted the Public Defense and Provisioning Act — which would permit the transfer of machine guns to residents, among other provisions.
The lawmakers cited the Second Amendment’s language and said the favorable decision in D.C. v. Heller “clarifying” “unrestricted access” under the militia clause to “resist tyranny,” among other reasons — while citing Washington administration official Tench Coxe’s assertion, “Congress has no power to disarm the militia.”
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“It therefore is in the public interest that the State provide a means whereby machine guns may be obtained by citizens.”
Rose told Fox News Digital the bill would address “a longstanding issue in federal firearms law and to reaffirm the constitutional protections afforded to West Virginians under the Second Amendment and Article III, Section 22 of the West Virginia Constitution.”
“I have long been clear that I am a Second Amendment absolutist, and I believe the Constitution means exactly what it says when it states that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” Rose said Friday, adding the bill showed states can assert their role in protecting constitutional rights and examining federal laws that have gone untested.
Rose’s bill hit a roadblock as West Virginia’s legislative session winds down, with Senate President Randy Smith, R-Blackwater Falls, deciding the full chamber would not take it up after it advanced through the Judiciary Committee, citing potential legal challenges.
“With an issue as critical as the protection of our Second Amendment rights, we must ensure the legislation we pass will survive legal challenge. This would not have,” said Smith, who also serves as lieutenant governor.
The proposal raises questions about the federal 1986 Hughes Amendment, which prohibits civilian transfers of machine guns manufactured after that year. A Judiciary Committee attorney told West Virginia Watch the restriction may not apply if the transfer were conducted through a state agency such as the West Virginia State Police.
During a hearing, Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Fairmont, also questioned whether the proposal could conflict with federal firearms laws.
Gun Owners of America reportedly worked with Rose on the legislation and has defended its legal footing.
With Smith’s decision and the session nearing its end, lawmakers are expected to revisit the proposal next year. A West Virginia House Republican source told Fox News Digital that chatter is already building around reviving the bill.
“As the lobbyists and Senate advocates are saying, there will be a huge push in the off-season to build this coalition and make this happen.”
Smith told WVW that he welcomes a new bill next year, but that proponents should pay closer attention to the legislative calendar to avoid last-minute issues.
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“For now, [we’re] probably going to have to let this stand,” a West Virginia Senate Republican source told Fox News Digital.
On Friday, Charleston did, however, approve a bill from Del. Charles Horst, R-Falling Waters, providing license-free concealed carry for 18-20-year-olds.
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