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Virginia Senate Democrats advanced a broad package of firearm restrictions Monday, reviving several proposals previously vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin as the party tests whether Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger will support tighter gun laws.

During a nearly four-hour hearing, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved more than half a dozen bills covering assault-style firearms, safe storage, concealed-carry reciprocity, ghost guns and weapons in public places. The Democratic-led panel rejected the only Republican proposal considered, which sought tougher mandatory minimum sentences for repeat firearm offenses.

Every vote followed party lines. Most of the approved measures will now go to the Senate Finance Committee for a review of their potential costs.

Time constraints prevented the committee from considering another group of pending gun bills.

The hearing occurred one week after hundreds of gun-rights advocates gathered around Capitol Square on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the annual Lobby Day rally. The crowd, larger than in recent years, reflected rising tensions now that Democrats control the governor’s office and both chambers of the General Assembly.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defence League, accused Democrats of targeting lawful gun owners instead of violent offenders. He argued that the bills would undermine residents’ ability to protect themselves and said the proposed assault-firearm restrictions showed Democrats intended to take away commonly owned guns.

Assault firearms and large-capacity magazines

The committee voted 9-5 to approve Senate Bill 749 from Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, D-Fairfax. It would generally prohibit the importation, sale, manufacture, purchase, possession or transfer of assault firearms and large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices.

Violations would be Class 1 misdemeanors, but the bill would not criminalize firearms that were legally owned before the restrictions took effect. Assault firearms manufactured before July 1, 2026, would be exempt, as would antiques, permanently inoperable weapons and manually operated firearms.

The measure also includes exceptions for law enforcement, military use and certain transfers among immediate family members.

Salim said the approach was designed to reduce the number of such weapons over time without retroactively punishing people who bought them legally.

Republican Sen. Mark Peake of Lynchburg called the legislation a direct violation of the Second Amendment, arguing that firearms serve as a safeguard against a tyrannical government. Southwest Virginia resident Carla Poff also opposed the measure on constitutional grounds.

Supporters pointed to court rulings involving similar restrictions. Lori Haas of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions cited a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding Maryland’s stricter assault-weapons ban as evidence that Virginia’s proposal could withstand a constitutional challenge.

Guns in public college buildings

Senate Bill 272, introduced by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, would restrict firearms in buildings owned or leased by Virginia, including those at public colleges and universities.

The legislation would narrow an existing exemption, permitting guns in higher-education buildings only for approved academic or institutional purposes such as ROTC activities. Violations would be misdemeanors.

Deeds first introduced the measure after the 2022 University of Virginia shooting that killed three students. He said versions of the bill had been introduced in 2023, 2024 and 2025, passing the Senate each time and both chambers before being vetoed.

Opponents said the restriction would interfere with students’ ability to defend themselves.

Locked storage inside homes

The committee approved Senate Bill 348 from Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. It would require firearms and ammunition to be kept in locked containers when a minor or a person legally prohibited from possessing a gun is present in a home.

A violation would be a Class 4 misdemeanor. Firearm dealers would also have to display notices explaining the requirement.

Boysko cited recent shootings involving children in Newport News, Chesterfield County and Norfolk, saying a young child had died each time she carried the legislation. Youngkin vetoed two earlier versions of the bill.

Assault-style firearms in public

Senate Bill 312 from Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, would expand Virginia’s restrictions on carrying certain semi-automatic firearms in public locations such as streets and parks.

Ebbin said the proposal was inspired by people openly carrying assault-style firearms at the Old Town Farmer’s Market in Alexandria. He also pointed to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and research finding higher casualty totals in mass shootings involving such weapons.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, argued that the language was so broad it could apply to most modern pistols and would quickly fail a constitutional challenge.

Ghost guns and unfinished components

The committee also advanced Ebbin’s Senate Bill 323, which targets unserialized firearms commonly called ghost guns, along with unfinished frames and receivers.

The measure would prohibit the manufacture, sale or possession of the covered weapons and components. Its provisions would take effect on delayed dates to give owners time to comply.

Ebbin said the legislation was intended to keep guns away from children, traffickers and people barred from possessing firearms.

John Weber of the National Rifle Association called the proposal unworkable, arguing that no process exists for obtaining a serial number for a firearm.

Handguns in vehicles and out-of-state permits

Senate Bill 496 from Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, would require handguns left in unattended vehicles to be secured out of sight inside locked, hard-sided containers.

Marsden described thefts from vehicles as a significant source of guns obtained by young people. Republicans countered that the bill could punish people whose firearms were stolen. Sen. Glenn Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, said it would effectively criminalize the conduct of robbery victims.

The panel also passed Senate Bill 115 from Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, tightening Virginia’s recognition of concealed-handgun permits from other states.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, who chairs the committee, said the bill would prevent someone from obtaining an inexpensive permit in a state such as Texas and automatically gaining concealed-carry privileges throughout Virginia.

Republican sentencing bill falls short

Democrats rejected Senate Bill 78 from Sen. Danny Diggs, R-York, which would have increased mandatory minimum sentences for repeat firearm offenses.

Surovell argued that the likelihood of being caught is a stronger deterrent to crime than harsher penalties alone.