Virginia Democrats have sent a sweeping gun-control package to Gov. Abigail Spanbergers desk, while lawmakers are debating the opposite approach â 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 â with Democrats in Richmond advancing new firearm restrictions while Republicans in Charleston explore expanding .
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 Richmonds ABC affiliate.
“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 Spanbergers office to ask whether she plans to sign Salims 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 Virginias legislature with 31-2 and 91-9 supermajorities, and the Mountain State is one of just two states â along with Oklahoma â with no Democrat-majority counties. Democrats, meanwhile, strengthened their hold on Virginias government in 2025 and captured ‘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.”
“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, y
