CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – A proposed law in Virginia’s General Assembly would ban assault weapons and limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds, sparking praise from gun reform advocates and concern from gun sellers in the Commonwealth.
The legislation, SB749, is still making its way through committees in the Senate, but would prohibit the purchase, transfer or manufacture of magazines holding more than 10 rounds starting July 1. The current version’s exclusion of a ‘grandfather clause’ would mean owning ‘large capacity magazines,’ no matter the purchase date, a misdemeanor offense.
The measure would align Virginia gun laws with restrictions in New York and California.
Tobey Bouch, owner of Tobey’s Pawn Shop in Albemarle, said 60% of his shop’s revenue comes from firearms. The 10-round limit would impact 75% of the handguns and all of the AR-style rifles he sells.
“Three Founding Fathers that live within 20 miles of here would have a lot to say about those who would give up freedom for security,” Bouch said. “Now I’m going to have to order California, New York compliant. Now it’s going to be California, New York, and Virginia compliant handguns.”
Bouch believes the proposed changes violate the Constitution and anticipates, if passed, the courts will quickly take it up.
“As American citizens, we don’t have to comply with unconstitutional law,” Bouch said. “We don’t. We should challenge it.”
Bouch said he has heard from many customers worried about the law passing. While he wishes it would not, he expected this after 2025’s Democratic sweep.
“Unfortunately, people are reactive. If we’d have been proactive, November 5th might have been different,” Bouch said. “The truth is, if you didn’t vote, if you didn’t vote on November 5th, I really don’t want to talk to you about it. I’m just being blunt, because elections have consequences.”
Democratic Senator Creigh Deeds, who voted to pass the bill in committee, believes the Second Amendment establishes a personal right to possess firearms but does not guarantee the right to possess weapons of war.
“If you can fire out a lot of bullets really quickly, you can hurt more people than you can if you can shoot one at a time or two or three in rapid succession,” Deeds said.
Deeds previously opposed gun reform measures but said tragedies over the years changed his position.
“I’ve come to see this differently as I’ve gotten older and I’ve had more experience,” Deeds said. “This country is founded on liberty, but the freedom to live the best life you can, that’s for everybody. We can’t protect the liberty of a few so that the many are in danger of being harmed.”
Republican state Representative Luther Cifers opposes the legislation.
“This is an attempt to take law-abiding Virginians and turn them into criminals instead of saving them money, which is exactly what the Democrats promised to do, is to make Virginia more affordable,” Cifers said.
The bill will return to the Senate floor next week. Cifers said he has many questions about the current language of the bill.
“I think it’s flawed in every sense of the word,” Cifers said. “How this plans to be enforced, I have no idea. I know that we’ve got constitutionally minded sheriffs that probably won’t enforce it, and I certainly hope that’s the case.”
Pawn shop owner Bouch worries about the consolidation of weapons to the government should the bill pass, citing a clause in the current version that excludes law enforcement from the ban.
“It’s not the fact that it’s some arbitrary restriction that bothers me, as much as it’s some arbitrary restriction that doesn’t apply to them, right?” Bouch said.
State Sen. Deeds said the clause is merely a logistics addition.
“Some of these weapons are in use by certain law enforcement agencies, and so that has to be excluded,” Deeds said. “It doesn’t mean that a law enforcement officer in his private life gets to possess something that somebody else doesn’t.”
Until the fate of the bill is known, Bouch said many customers are purchasing larger magazines in anticipation of the ban.
“Now, all of a sudden, people are buying it like gold,” Bouch said.
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