Instead of signing, vetoing or allowing a controversial gun ban bill to become law without her signature on Tuesday, Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger offered up an amended version of House Bill 217, which essentially kicks the political can down the road just a bit, possibly forestalling a threatened legal action against Virginia by the Department of Justice.
WVEC News is reporting Spanberger essentially waited until her legislative deadline was approaching to submit her bill substitute after Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon threatened in an April 10 letter to “commence litigation in the event the Commonwealth of Virginia enacts certain bills that unconstitutionally limit law-abiding Americans’ individual right to bear arms.”
The letter specifically referred to Senate Bill 749, which is identical to HB 217. Dhillon noted in her letter that signing the legislation “would require Virginia law enforcement agencies to engage in a practice of unconstitutionally restricting the making, buying, or selling of AR-15s and many other semi-automatic firearms in common use.”
🚨@SpanbergerForVA is on notice: 2A rights SHALL NOT BE infringed.
We are closely watching—in the event any unlawful legislation is enacted, we will sue. @CivilRights will protect the 2A rights of law-abiding citizens in Virginia.
2A Section Lawyers are standing by… 🚨 pic.twitter.com/h2DfXwgaKC
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) April 10, 2026
Spanberger’s proposed amendments essentially preserve “the core” of the legislation, which prohibits the sale, manufacture and/or transfer of so-called “assault firearms,” and—as described by WVEC, “keeps the bill’s central framework intact.”
So, is this a stall to delay what appears to be an inevitable federal lawsuit?
According to WDBJ News, the amended bill goes back to the General Assembly “for approval or rejection” of the changes. If those changes are rejected by lawmakers, the Assembly can still pass the original bill—it would take a two-thirds vote—after which Spanberger could either sign or veto the measure.
Under provisions in Spanberger’s amended bill, pistol grips and thumbhole stocks would be removed from a list of cosmetic features which would classify a firearm as an “assault firearm.” There is a change also in the magazine capacity limit, and there are also some “technical adjustments” in the bill’s wording, according to WVEC.
But in the final analysis, are these adjustments really concerning to Spanberger, or is she just buying time?
According to a press release from the governor’s office, “These bills prohibit the future sale of assault firearms and the possession of a magazine which has a capacity of more than 15 rounds. The bills do not apply to firearms bought or owned before July 1, 2026. The Governor’s amendments provide additional clarity to law enforcement as it relates to the firearms included under this legislation, as well as protect the use of certain semi-automatic shotguns used for hunting.”
However, buried in the governor’s amended version is this language:
“Assault firearm” means any: 1. A semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol
which expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine which will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stockwith a magazine capacity in excess of 15 rounds.”
Critics argue that Spanberger’s substitute, by stripping this language from the bill, essentially makes any semi-auto firearm capable of holding more than 15 rounds automatically becomes an “assault firearm.” The concern is that this makes the carrying of any such firearm illegal, even if a person legally owns the magazines and is licensed to carry.
This entire episode does open up some interesting possibilities, because it marks the first time the Justice Department has threatened legal action against a state for passing a restrictive gun control law.
Around the country, Second Amendment activists in other states must be wondering why Dhillon didn’t send the same message to governors in Washington, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oregon, Colorado or other states where Democrat majorities are pushing—or have passed—restrictive gun control laws.
Or, will Dhillon now simply turn the Second Amendment Section of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division loose on those states which have already adopted restrictions? Gun owners are waiting to see what happens next.
They might get a hint from what Dhillon and the DOJ do in response to Spanberger’s maneuver. She already signed some gun control measures, so there is every reason to believe she will sign HB 217, whether her amendments are approved by further Assembly action, or if lawmakers reject her changes and simply send back the bill as originally passed.
In summary, HB 217 as passed, “Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill with some exceptions, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, or is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action. The bill also prohibits the sale of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, as that term is defined in the bill. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, transfers, or purchases a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to SB 749.”
DOJ Warns Virginia It Will Sue Over AR-15 Ban, Gun Control Bills
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
