RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statements after Governor Youngkin vetoed several significant gun safety policies for the second year in a row, including those to ban the sale and public carry of assault weapons, a ban on all rapid fire devices, bans on the carry of guns in hospitals and college campuses, the creation of a five-day waiting period to purchase a firearm, and measures to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. During this legislative session, gun sense lawmakers and gun safety advocates fought for this legislation to pass both chambers and sent dozens of gun safety bills to Governor Youngkin’s desk.
Governor Youngkin did sign into law a few gun safety measures including measures to expand tax credits for secure storage devices, and to require the dissemination of secure storage information to parents or guardians when students are identified as a risk to themselves or others. Among the bills that were signed into law, three were sponsored by former Moms Demand Action volunteers-turned-state lawmakers, Delegate Atoosa Reaser and Senator Kannan Srinivasan.
Ahead of the 2025 elections, gun safety advocates are doubling-down on their commitment to elect a gun-sense Governor and re-elect a gun-sense majority in the House of Delegates to finally see these bills enacted, and build on the victory of 2023, where voters flipped the House of Delegates and maintained a gun sense majority in the Senate – all while sending nine Moms Demand Action volunteers to the House of Delegates.
“The bills that were just signed into law will encourage Virginians to securely store their weapons, which is the essence of responsible gun ownership — but too many lifesaving bills were vetoed to appease the gun lobby,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Legislators are listening to Virginians and passing common-sense laws to keep guns out of dangerous hands — now we need to elect a Governor who will have their back.”
“Virginia voters elected lawmakers with a clear mandate to strengthen gun safety, and we’re proud to see them follow through on that promise—despite Governor Youngkin’s failure to sign the majority of their lifesaving bills into law today,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Although these laws are a step towards a safer future, it’s unacceptable that Governor Youngkin vetoed popular, lifesaving gun safety legislation. Our movement will keep fighting until Virginia has both stronger gun safety laws, and a governor who actually stands up for their constituents.”
“Today builds on the bipartisan progress of last year, and none of this would have been possible without our gun sense champions – including my fellow former Moms Demand Action volunteers – in the legislature who got these bills to the finish line,” said Susan Loesberg, a volunteer with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We can’t ignore that for two years in a row, Governor Youngkin vetoed critical gun safety measures like an assault weapons ban and stronger protections to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. This November, we have an opportunity to put Virginia back on track to become a national leader on gun safety by electing a gun sense champion to the Governor’s office and we’re ready to make sure that we win.”
“We’ve given everything to achieve stronger gun safety laws in Virginia. While we saw some progress today, it wasn’t the comprehensive action we deserve,” said Ava Saunders, a student leader with the Hayfield Secondary School Students Demand Action chapter. “We deserve more and we’re committed to fighting for safer communities in Virginia and that starts with the elections in November.”
A full list of the bills signed into law this legislative session include:
- A measure to broaden eligible retailers for the secure firearm storage tax credit (HB 2595 / SB 1389),
- A measure to require certain school professionals, when contacting parents of students at imminent risk of suicide as required by law, to provide materials on suicide prevention that include legal requirements on secure storage & guidance on limiting access to lethal means (HB 2055),
- A measure to give victims of crimes additional time to file claims with the Compensation Board and take other steps to facilitate victims’ access to compensation (HB 1968 / SB 1200),
- A measure to permit a court to find good cause to issue a preliminary protective order when a petitioner has a Military Protective Order (HB 1882 / SB 957),
- A measure to require that information about the secure storage of firearms be included when parents are notified of a school’s threat assessment team’s determination of a student’s threat of violence to themself or others (HB 2679), and
- A measure to prohibit threats to discharge a firearm in certain public spaces (HB 1583).
In an average year, 1,200 people die by guns in Virginia and 1,624 are wounded. With a rate of 13.6 deaths per 100,000 people, Virginia has the 34th-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. Gun violence costs Virginia $14.2 billion each year, of which $288.3 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Virginia is available here.