Virginians are stocking up on guns ahead of a Democrat-led assault weapons ban on July 1, but some local lawmakers say they won't enforce the new rule. 

Liberal Governor Abigail Spanberger signed legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms in mid-May. 

While lawsuits from gun-rights groups remain in the courts, pro-gun Virginia residents and some lawmakers have either prepared for or fought back against the ban. 

The FBI has reported 75,376 background checks in Virginia during the month of May, a 102 percent increase from May 2025.  

In 2026 to date, the state has seen 347,167 background checks, already 66 percent of the checks done all of 2025.  

Prosecutors in three Virginia counties have already promised not to enforce the new weapons ban.

'The code of Virginia is just not ever gonna be able to supersede constitutional law, and when constitutional law is clear on the point, I have to remain faithful to the supreme law of the land, and that's the US and the Virginia Constitutions,' Spotsylvania County Attorney Ryan Mehaffey told 8News in late May. 

'I am not going to take law-abiding citizens as of June 30, 2026 and criminalize that same behavior on July 1, 2026 solely on the basis of this new law,' said Pulaski County Attorney Justin Griffith. 

Colonel Gregory Six, the Sheriff of Hanover County, has told his officers they 'will not pursue enforcement actions under these new laws while the courts consider the pending constitutional challenges' to the rule.

'I will not support efforts that turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals, subjecting them to potentially lifelong consequences for exercising what they believe to be their constitutional rights,' added Louisa County Sheriff Donald Lowe.  

The new Virginia law, which takes effect July 1, will make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, for people to buy, sell, transfer, import or manufacture an 'assault firearm.' 

The limits on 'assault firearms,' as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months in office. 

That marks a sharp policy reversal from her Republican predecessor, who had vetoed many similar measures.

'Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,' Spanberger said in a statement when the legislation was signed. 

'We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.'

The new gun restrictions move Virginia closer to the likes of California, Illinois and New York, which similarly have full Democratic control of their legislatures and governors' offices. 

They also highlight a continued national divide on gun policy, as various Republican-led states have taken steps to relax firearm restrictions that they describe as an infringement on Second Amendment rights. 

The measure defines that term to include semi-automatic rifles or pistols with a magazine capacity of more than 15 rounds. 

It also includes firearms with other characteristics, such as rifles capable of accepting a detachable magazine that have a second handgrip or a collapsible stock. 

The prohibition also applies to magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. 

For most people, there's no penalty for merely possessing such weapons. 

Eleven other states and Washington, DC already have laws prohibiting the sale an manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, though the details vary. 

Hawaii, for example, prohibits certain semi-automatic pistols and high-capacity magazines, but not semi-automatic rifles.

Legal challenges came swiftly after Spanberger signed the legislation. 

The National Rifle Association, joined by other groups, sued in both federal and state court, asserting violations of the right to bear arms.

'The firearms and magazines banned in this law aren't bizarre and unusual outliers, they're among the most commonly owned guns and magazines in the country,' said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, which joined the NRA in the federal lawsuit. 

'They're owned in the tens of millions by peaceable Americans who use them overwhelmingly lawfully.'

Donald Trump's Department of Justice also vowed to sue to block the Virginia law from being enforced.

The Virginia measure would 'infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to enjoy and use AR-15 rifles for lawful purposes by making it a crime to purchase and sell them,' Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the department's civil rights division, wrote in an April letter to Spanberger. 

So far, laws restricting certain semi-automatic firearms generally have been upheld, including by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Virginia, Maryland and several additional states.