I am against these proposed bills to impededany sort of restriction on the carry of firearms, banning any sort of accessory, type or feature of a firearm, or any law that adds additional penalties, burdens, fees, or taxes on firearms. The punishment the law abiding citizen with burdensome laws and infringe upon their constitutional rights. The 2nd ammendment is very clear in "shall not be infringed," yet these bills infringe on the freedom of people to bear arms. The propososers of these bills know they're illegal bills and are not constitutional. Virginia has long been a beacon of freedom, and was instrumental in in the American Revolution to secure that freedom. It is disguisting seeing its politicians try to forcibly take that freedom away from its people. I am opposed to these bills and urge the legislature to throw them out, with prejudice.

As a pediatrician I have long been appalled that firearms are the number one cause of death of our children- and having lived thru both mass shootings in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, I immersed myself in the data to understand the problem- we know FIrearm licensing , and concealed carry licensing that incorporates safe storage training saves lives. We know that the access to assault weapons so easily , especially in people with prior threats or concerning obsessions is a reason for most of our mass shootings in America. We know that in domestic violence access to firearms , even in dating relationships , is why women continue to die even with protective orders in place. As a physician I strongly feel concealed carry , especially assault weapons has no place in hospitals , colleges , schools and public buildings. In Virginia we can have laws that really protect people without infringing on the right of sane citizens to own guns. Brief waiting periods, safe storage education for all gun owners, safe storage requirements for all gun owners and a strong emergency protective order system will save many lives and I urge you to support them.

Gun violence is the #1 cause of death in children and teens in the U.S. As a registered nurse and volunteer with Moms Demand Action, I am in full support of these bills. Thank you, Del. Helmer, for using your experiences as a war veteran to make this Commonwealth safer for its citizens.

We do not need to place Virginians in legal jeopardy while exercising their right to defend themselves!

I agree with VCDL. Reciprocity should not require a wait time or approval.

I support all proposed Gun Control Legislation before the assembly. I hope that the Assembly has the courage to stand up to the guns everywhere agenda of the firearms industry. For decades the weapons industry has used emotionally manipulative marketing to trigger consumers' amygdala responses. The weapons industry makes people believe that they are not safe in their homes without loaded guns. Their manipulation of consumers' emotions and fear responses has in fact made American homes unsafe. Rather than taking rational measures to secure their homes, Americans keep loaded guns which have become responsible for the most deaths of American young people (ages 0-18 ). For this reason I support secure storage laws and all measures for enhanced permitting and licensing. Requiring citizens to think rationally about how to secure their homes safely is not a violation of the second amendment. Speaking of the second amendment, Americans have a fixation on the most emotionally charged clause of this amendment. The so called "right-to-bear arms." This clause appeals to directly to the ego and is the focus of America's fixation, while the first clause about well-regulated militia is ignored. In this time of emotionally-charged political protesting, which has boiled over in the event of a man carrying a concealed handgun being killed by Border Patrol agents, our national conversation around guns has reached a terrifying new low. Some on the political right have labeled the man killed in Minneapolis as a domestic terrorist because he was carrying a concealed weapon. Elements of the political left have lionized the slain man for exercising his constitutional right to "bear arms" and resist tyranny. This conversation is a case of both the left and the right abandoning principals in favor of cheering for their side. Right wing demonstrators have frequently paraded with assault weapons as props to protest pandemic health codes, and library books. This fantasy of our "right to bear arms " to resist tyranny should be anathema to Americans who believe in using our political process to solve conflict without brute force and violence. That is what our system is designed for, and fantasy about resisting tyranny with guns is really fantasy for civil war. I am also appalled at the brutal actions of federal agents in our cities, but our conversations are turning quickly to fantasy about open armed conflict before all civil avenues for policy correction through the ballot box or the courts (see amendments 3-9) have been exercised. The second amendment is not a blank check for citizens to have max fire power to appeal to their egos or irrational fears. A lone interloper carrying a gun into a tense situation between law enforcement and protesters is not the well-regulated militia. Self-proclaimed civil defense leagues who stalk protesters they may disagree with are not part of the "well-regulated militia" either. Looking back on the events of this month and many other similar events that have occurred in America demonstrate that guns everywhere undermines our right to protest more than it helps.

When did our state government decide that they do not have to follow our Constitution of the United States of America? The 2nd Amendment is an individual right under the Constitution that states clearly that it shall not be infringed on which in simple terms means that no government official or group has the ability to take a person's right to keep and bear arms in the United States of America. This Amendment was so important to our forefathers that it is the second thing they wrote to establish that the government does not have the ability to take your right to defend yourself against all enemies and this includes a tyrannical state government that doesn't understand plain text that our country was founded on. It doesn't matter what others opinions or feelings on the subject of the right to bear arms is because it is my right and not their's that we are talking about at this time. As a society of individuals in our country that have never agreed on things of this nature since the invention of the modern firearm we have to look no farther than our own Constitution to see that this is not a collective right of certain people that agree or disagree with the principle of firearms but infact a Constitutional right of an individual to determine there views of their personal right to bear arms. With the world in the state it is in at our present time this Constitutional right is needed more then ever because we are facing people that think that the can completely ignore the Constitution and its not even on a national level but a state level. This is also a truly sad moment of our state that is the founding place for our country as it exists from the time that we settled in this new land of an unknown world at the time but to disrespect our founding Document that started it all on top of it is the worst thing that could happen in our state for these elected officials to look at the Bill of Rights and say to themselves that those Amendment are not worth following because I have a different opinion, belief or feeling on that Amendment that I am personally going to take the individual right of every person in Virginia just because I don't want to follow these Amendments as they are written. Do you understand how this is being a tyrannical government just like the British were when they were trying to control the entire population at the time that we had the Revolution in this great land to start this great country. When people say that the 2nd Amendment is dated and need to be revised but can see the actual beauty in how our forefathers predicted that this Amendment would be necessary throughout time to even to the year 2026 were we have a government that is looking at this exact Amendment and saying no we don't have to follow that anymore because we have all these people that don't like the fact that a free person of the United States of America can purchase anything that has to do with their ability to not only protect themselves in self defense but also to protect themselves from the tyrannical government that is before us today. I'm sorry but as a person that has no affiliation to a political party or any other organization on this subject in our country I believe in our Constitution and the Amendments that were written in the Bill of Rights to protect myself, my family and my friends from people that think that they know what is best for everyone in our country on the basis that they either think they are smarter, richer or elected.

I am a resident of Ashburn in Loudoun County, Virginia. I respectfully submit the following written testimony in opposition to the bills listed below. HB1359 – Firearm purchase requirements; penalties I oppose HB1359 because it adds additional requirements and penalties that burden law-abiding purchasers without clear evidence of reducing criminal misuse. HB1427 – Limitation on handgun purchases I oppose HB1427 because purchase limits restrict lawful ownership while failing to address how firearms are obtained by those who commit crimes. HB19 – Firearms; purchase after assault & battery of family or household member I oppose HB19 due to due process and proportionality concerns, as it restricts rights prior to full adjudication rather than focusing on enforcement of existing protections. HB21 – Firearm industry members; civil liability standards I oppose HB21 because it expands civil liability in ways that risk penalizing lawful businesses for the actions of third parties without improving public safety. HB217 – Assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices I oppose HB217 because it targets lawful ownership based on firearm type rather than criminal misuse and lacks evidence of meaningful public safety benefit. HB229 – Weapons prohibited in certain hospitals I oppose HB229 because blanket prohibitions rely on disarmament rather than appropriate security and enforcement in sensitive facilities. HB24 – Concealed handgun permit reciprocity I oppose HB24 because limiting reciprocity penalizes lawful permit holders without deterring criminal activity, while Virginia’s current framework has functioned effectively. HB40 – Plastic or unserialized firearms I oppose HB40 due to overbroad definitions that risk unintended impacts on lawful ownership and small businesses rather than targeting criminal conduct. HB540 – Carrying firearms in restricted locations I oppose HB540 because expanding restricted locations increases complexity and the risk of unintentional violations by law-abiding citizens. HB700 – Waiting period for firearm purchases I oppose HB700 because mandatory waiting periods delay the exercise of a constitutional right without clear evidence of reducing violent crime. HB871 – Firearm storage requirements in residences I oppose HB871 because it imposes criminal penalties through broad storage mandates that may be difficult to apply consistently and fairly. HB907 – Security requirements for firearms dealers I oppose HB907 because it adds regulatory and penalty burdens on lawful dealers without clear evidence that such measures reduce criminal misuse. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the committee to oppose the bills listed above. Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony for the public record.

I stand strongly with the VCDL on these proposed laws. VA has always been a bipartisan state on gun issues, and although the second amendment has may purposes- it must be preserved to protect the citizens of this state. Overreaching federal law enforcement, and all threats domestic and foreign are kept in line by responsible firearm ownership. Gun control also impacts lower income groups, impoverished populations, and people of color disproportionately. We must preserve the 2nd amendment.

States have different standards for a reason, but imposing tighter restrictions would penalize responsible citizens who’ve met their home state’s requirements. It creates a confusing, fragmented system that hinders lawful carry across state lines. OPPOSED!

I support HB24 as it ensures that a concealed carry permit from another state meets with the bar of Virginia's laws. Data shows that states with the weakest gun laws - including no permit and no training requirement - have the most gun violence. People from other states who have not met safety thresholds should not be allowed to automatically conceal carry in Virginia.

As a concerned parent and Virginian, I support these bills.

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the recently proposed bills on gun control. While I understand the intent behind these bills—to enhance public safety—I firmly believe that they will have unintended consequences that infringe on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. The Second Amendment guarantees "the right of individuals to keep and bear arms", and it is a fundamental part of what makes this country free. These bills being proposed would place unnecessary and burdensome restrictions on responsible gun owners, making it harder for Virginians to exercise their rights in a lawful and safe manner. Rather than focusing on restricting access to firearms, I urge the General Assembly to consider measures that target criminals and illegal activities, such as enforcing stricter penalties for those who use firearms in the commission of crimes, or improving background checks for gun purchases. It is essential to address the root causes of violence, such as mental health issues and gang-related activity, rather than punishing responsible gun owners who follow the law. Furthermore, these proposed bills could create significant logistical challenges for gun owners, particularly those who rely on their firearms for self-defense, hunting, or recreational activities. The financial burden and potential legal ramifications of complying with these new regulations would be overwhelming for many Virginians. I strongly urge you to reconsider these proposals and to focus on policies that protect both our rights and our communities. I trust that you will make the best decision for all Virginians, and I sincerely hope that you will oppose these bills.

I oppose HB24, which limits the recognition of out-of-state concealed handgun permits and introduces unnecessary barriers for lawful gun owners. This bill could create confusion for gun owners traveling between states and unfairly restrict their rights. It imposes a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn't account for the diversity of state laws, many of which already have rigorous standards. Instead of creating more hurdles for responsible gun owners, the Commonwealth should focus on policies that enhance public safety without penalizing those who are legally authorized to carry in other states.

We SUPPORT this bill as visitors wishing to carry concealed handguns in Virginia should meet the same level of safety requirements that we require of our state’s residents.

HB110, Del. Laufer (D): This bill will save lives by eliminating provisions allowing any person to store their firearms in their car and preventing firearms from being stolen from cars. I SUPPORT this bill as half of all stolen guns are ones that are stolen from a car, and half of all crimes committed with a gun have a stolen gun used. This is a straightforward way to reduce these crimes and gun violence. HB19, Del. McClure (D): I SUPPORT this bill as it expands critical protections to additional relationship categories. This is a critical step to ensuring that more individuals are protected from domestic violence and gun violence. HB21, Del. Helmer (D): I SUPPORT this bill as industry accountability is a great way to force manufacturers to raise standards of safety. Firearm manufacturers and distributors must be held accountable for reckless behavior and practices that make our communities less safe. HB229, Del. Hernandez (D): I SUPPORT this bill and commonsense restrictions on gun access and believe in protecting the safety of our medical care providers. HB24, Del. Helmer (D): I SUPPORT this bill as visitors wishing to carry concealed handguns in Virginia should meet the same level of safety requirements that we require of our state’s residents. HB40, Del. Simon (D): I SUPPORT this bill as it would make it easier to prosecute and prevent crimes committed by ghost guns. HB626, Del. Callsen (D): I SUPPORT extending the protection of k-12 schools to our institutions of higher education. HB702, Del. Cole (D): I SUPPORT this bill as currently it can be incredibly difficult to find a way to get a gun destroyed that you no longer want or has come into your possession through something like inheritance. The public benefits from the creation of more drop-off point for individuals, of their own free will, to relinquish firearms to be destroyed. HB700, Hayes (D): I SUPPORT this bill as waiting periods provide law enforcement additional time to perform an accurate background check and create a “cooling off” period to prevent acts of violence or suicide attempts. HB93, Bennett-Parker: I SUPPORT this bill, as it strengthens protections for domestic violence survivors. We must establish a clear process to separate a person from their firearms who has been convicted of a domestic violence offense, or who is subject to a protective order.

I support HB24 as it creates consistent safety standards for concealed carry. Visitors who wish to carry concealed handguns in Virginia should meet the same level of responsibility and training required of Virginians.

I oppose this bill as it would create reciprocity battles between the states. PA recently accepted VA permits. This bill will only serve to create further division between other states. I have a VA driver's license. I'm able to drive ANY road in ANY state. And that's merely a privilege. This bill has no value. When was the last time a permitholder committed a crime, let alone a permitholder from another state

I strongly urge you not to support this bill. Passing this would likely mean that other states remove their reciprocity for Virginia concealed carry permit holders. This makes those Virginians less safe when traveling to those states.

In 2021, my elderly stepmother shot through a closed door during an argument with my elderly father, striking him in the back and paralyzing him. My father has spent the past five years in extreme physical agony, unable to walk, paying caretakers out of pocket to hoist him in and out of bed, unable to care for himself. The lack of movement in his life has led to horrific bed sores, which become bone infections, which lead to extended hospital stays and a horrible quality of life. All this because my stepmother was allowed to have a gun. There are countless stories like this of the bullet's aftermath: of the lifelong physical and mental damage that comes from guns. It has been a horrific five years, full of physical pain and mental anguish for our entire family. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. The bills before you now will not only save lives, they will spare whole swaths of our neighborhoods from needing to deal with these horrors. One bullet, lodged in my father's spine, didn't kill him. Instead, it has shattered the life he had, his ability to work and care for himself, and his family. Each bullet we allow in our communities has the ability to do the same. His care has bankrupted him personally, and now he relies on state care and Medicaid, an avoidable burden on taxpayers. There are numerous reasons guns have no place in our society, and I hope my father's story is just one that helps make change. Please support all bills that make guns harder to access, harder to keep. Please do everything you can to keep guns out of the hands of our society. Thank you for the great work you are doing to keep Virginians safe.

Tightens concealed handgun permits (ensures that a permit from another state meets with the bar of Virginia's laws). We SUPPORT this bill as visitors wishing to carry concealed handguns in Virginia should meet the same level of safety requirements that we require of our state’s residents.

I respectfully submit this comment in opposition to HB110, HB21, HB217, HB229, HB24, HB623, HB626, HB700, HB871, and HB916. These proposals represent a sweeping expansion of firearm regulation that raises serious constitutional concerns under both the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution. Recent Supreme Court precedent makes clear that firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Broad restrictions on commonly owned firearms, magazines, permitting, carry, storage, commerce, and industry liability extend well beyond that tradition and place undue burdens on law abiding Virginians. Several proposals also seek to impose increased taxation of firearms, ammunition, and accessories such as the proposed $500 tax on suppressors. These proposals are nothing more than a means of discouraging lawful ownership. Using taxation to create financial barriers to the exercise of a constitutional right is deeply concerning and disproportionately impacts lower income Virginians. Constitutional rights should not be accessible only to those who can afford significant additional fees or penalties. Many of these bills do not meaningfully target criminal misuse, but instead regulate the conduct of responsible citizens who already comply with existing laws. Measures such as expanded prohibitions, waiting periods, altered permitting standards, reciprocal permit limitations, storage penalties, civil liability expansion, forfeiture hurdles, location based carry bans, and punitive taxation risk criminalizing otherwise lawful behavior while doing nothing to address violent crime or its underlying causes. I respectfully urge the General Assembly to reject these proposals in their entirety. Virginians should not be asked to surrender constitutional rights through cumulative restrictions, financial barriers, or regulatory complexity that would never be tolerated if applied to any other enumerated right. Public safety and constitutional liberty are not mutually exclusive, and legislation that undermines one in the name of the other ultimately serves neither. The Commonwealth can and must pursue solutions that respect both the Constitution and the Virginians it exists to serve.

I am writing to oppose the current slate of firearm restriction bills before the General Assembly. While these proposals are framed as public safety measures, in practice they disproportionately harm marginalized Virginians — including racial minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals (especially trans people), immigrants, and low-income residents — who often face higher risks of targeted violence and slower or unequal police response. These bills add costs, delays, and bureaucratic hurdles to exercising a fundamental right. Increased fees, mandatory waiting periods, feature bans, and expanded disqualifications fall hardest on people with limited financial resources, unstable work schedules, or justified concerns about their personal safety. For many vulnerable individuals, the ability to lawfully and promptly acquire a firearm is not about ideology, but about self-defense. History shows that restrictive gun laws are most aggressively enforced in minority communities, amplifying disparities in arrests, prosecution, and legal exposure — even when no harm has occurred. Expanding civil liability, criminal penalties, and subjective risk standards increases that risk. Public safety should not come at the expense of civil rights or equal access to self-protection. Policies that price people out of their rights or delay lawful self-defense do not address the root causes of violence and instead leave the most vulnerable less safe. I respectfully urge you to oppose these bills and support approaches that protect both public safety and the rights of all Virginians, regardless of income, identity, or background. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Such bills if passed would provide little benefit to the safety of Virginia citizens. Gun violence is not a major concern in Virginia, and criminals will neither abide nor be limited by such legislation. Instead, many responsible citizens would lose their rights. There is no reason to pass such measures. In addition, many of these bills are not written to an excellent level of clarity and will spur much confusion on what remains legal or illegal.

I respectfully submit this comment as a Virginia citizen and, parenthetically, a member of the r/VAGuns subreddit, in principled opposition to HB24. I oppose HB24 as introduced. Article I, §13 of the Virginia Constitution and the Second Amendment protect the individual right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes, including self-defense. District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago confirm that this is a fundamental, individual right, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen requires that regulations burdening its exercise comport with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Fundamental constitutional rights do not terminate at state lines. While states retain authority to administer licensing systems, they may not condition the exercise of a fundamental right on residency-based distinctions that lack historical grounding. The right to keep and bear arms, like other incorporated rights, belongs to the individual, not to the individual only while remaining within a single jurisdiction. HB24 undermines this principle by restricting recognition of out-of-state permits for Virginia residents, effectively penalizing lawful conduct based on geographic happenstance rather than individual qualification or conduct. There is no founding-era or Reconstruction-era tradition of extinguishing or narrowing a citizen’s right to bear arms solely because they cross state borders. HB24 directs the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the Attorney General, to review and potentially revoke reciprocity agreements if other states’ permitting standards are deemed inadequate. There is no credible empirical evidence from DOJ, FBI UCR/NIBRS, or RAND firearm policy reviews showing that reciprocity with other states increases violent crime by permit holders. Available data consistently indicate that individuals lawfully licensed to carry firearms commit violent offenses at rates far below the general population. The bill’s restrictions therefore lack an evidence-based justification tied to actual public safety outcomes. The bill introduces uncertainty and administrative complexity without clear statutory necessity. Existing law already provides mechanisms for permit verification and enforcement against unlawful possession. HB24’s open-ended adequacy standard invites inconsistent application and undermines predictability for law-abiding citizens. Conditioning recognition of permits on evolving administrative judgments, rather than objective criteria, risks selective enforcement and arbitrary revocation of long-standing reciprocity arrangements. HB24 would impose additional permitting costs and administrative burdens on Virginians who live, work, or travel across state lines, even when they already hold valid permits issued by states with comparable requirements. These burdens fall most heavily on individuals of modest means and those whose employment requires interstate travel, without any demonstrated public safety benefit. HB24 burdens the exercise of a fundamental constitutional right by restricting reciprocity in a manner unsupported by historical tradition, empirical evidence, or sound statutory logic. Fundamental rights do not end at state lines, and Virginia should not condition their exercise on residency-based distinctions lacking constitutional justification. I respectfully urge the Committee to oppose HB24.

HB 24 is another restriction placed on law abiding citizens in Virginia and other states. Defeat this bill. The mantra from the left is drivers licenses are required to operate a car, after drivers training and testing and paying for a license despite there being no constitutional right to operate a vehicle. However, in the case of concealed carry permit reciprocity, the "guns are like cars and should be licensed argument" falls apart when it's mentioned that a Virginia driver's license is good in all 50 states, DC and US territories. Why is that? Seems like Delegate Helmer and his ilk want to have their cake and eat it too. This will do nothing to lessen crime. Once again, the law abiding will obey this ill-conceived measure while criminals will continue to break the law. Defeat it.

I support this bill as the data and evidence show that it will reduce harm and deaths from guns. Taking this measure will ensure that guns are used responsibly and only for the intended consequences. Owning a gun is a serious responsibility and measures like this must be put into action as currently they are being misused and causing an epidemic in this country. Guns are the #1 killer of children and teens in the United States. When the impact of an item causes so much harm, measures must be put into place to protect people, especially children.

I support the following bills because guns are the number one cause of death for children in our commonwealth and our nation. HB 110 will help reduce the number of gun thefts from cars, and these thefts are on the rise. Additionally, we need to close the boyfriend loophole from domestic violence offenders (HB19).

This is a 2nd amendment violation. The constitution does not exclude where I can and can't carry a firearm and nether will you.

These proposed bills are clear and direct violations of our 2nd Amendment Constitutional right. Virginia has been an upstanding example of bi-partisan gun ownership since its birth as a Commonwealth. At a time when many other constitutional rights are being directly challenged by the Federal Government, with little resistance from the Supreme Court & Congress, it is extremely ignorant and out of touch for Virginia representatives to even consider passing these unconstitutional bills. Whether it is Republicans or Democrats it seems our rights are being pinched away, piece by piece. I ask our representatives and Governor to use "common sense" and not pass these blatant violations to our guaranteed constitutional right. You representatives cannot simply pick and choose which constitutional amendments apply to citizens or we may as well not have a constitution at all.

I oppose HB24. The bill weakens reciprocity and creates a confusing patchwork by requiring state-by-state determinations and revocations that will disrupt lawful travel and carry. It also restricts Virginia residents from relying on out-of-state permits to carry in Virginia, creating unnecessary legal traps for otherwise law-abiding, background-checked individuals. Public safety is best served through clear rules, reliable verification, and enforcement against prohibited possessors—not by narrowing reciprocity and complicating compliance. Please vote NO on HB24.

I oppose HB24 as it is an unnecessary law with no positive effects but may diminish tourism in our state. Concealed carry permit holders of all states are among the least likely to commit a violent crime. Those people who have visited our state and carried lawfully are not committing murders or shootings. I encourage the patron of this bill to find one violent crime in the last 10 years that could have been prevented with this.

HB 24 modifies out-of-state concealed handgun permit recognition criteria. The proposal affects lawful carry and travel but does not directly target violent criminal conduct. Conceptually, reciprocal recognition frameworks deserve scrutiny regarding their public-safety impact and constitutional foundations, particularly where they affect lawful holders’ interstate rights.

As a representative of r/VAGuns, a popular online community of Virginia gun owners on the social media platform Reddit, we fully and unanimously DO NOT support this bill and others like it that blatantly violate Second Amendment rights with disregard for tradition or case law. These bills DO NOT represent practical, balanced measures that help safeguard our community, and r/VAGuns does NOT back these efforts to infringe on the rights of Virginians.

I STRONGLY oppose this bill. There is already a burden on AMERICAN citizens; concealed carry and open carry gun owners when traveling in and out of VA. Why are you going to make it harder for those who are responsible gun owners. The thugs, criminals and crappy people who don't follow the laws; will CONTINUE to NOT follow regardless of the laws you decide to push through a ONE SIDED legislative body. NORTHERN VA state representatives need to make it a city law; NOT a state law; go and control their consituents in their district. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed". https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt2-6/ALDE_00013266/

I am writing to oppose this legislation as a proud Virginia resident. This legislation will have no effect on public safety and will only provide an undue burden on the law abiding residents of Virginia. Other states have tried these methods and have shown no drastic reduction in gun violence. Instead, this merely prevents law abiding Virginians from fully exercising their constitutional rights. And it is clearly a constitutional right of both our nation and the state. It is the only amendment where “shall not be infringed” is expressly stated. Under the recent New York vs Bruen decision, there must be historical precedent for it to be constitutional of which there is none especially none that are not based in racist ideologies. I urge my delegates to vote no on this legislation and will be allocating my vote accordingly.

As a representative of r/VAGuns, a popular online community of Virginia gun owners on the social media platform Reddit, we fully and unanimously endorse this bill and others like it that promote common-sense gun laws. Our community stands united in support of the recent legislation being passed in the General Assembly, which aims to protect and strengthen our neighborhoods while respecting the rights of responsible gun owners. These bills represent practical, balanced measures that help safeguard our community, and r/VAGuns proudly backs these efforts to promote safety and responsibility across Virginia.

This bill does more harm to law abiding citizens. This bill does nothing to curb crime or be harsher on criminals. This bill will not help secure the safety of law abiding citizens.

HB110 | Laufer CRIMINALISES the victim and incentivizes these types of crime to go UNREPORTED. It allows guns to fall into the hands of CRIMINALS and then you penalize person who the crime was committed against. HB21 | Helmer HB217 | Helmer HB24 | Helmer These LIMIT the gun RIGHTS of Virginians. The 2nd amendment does not grant rights to it's people, it prevents governments from taking the INALIENABLE RIGHTS away from it's people. This goes against the 2nd amendment, the Virginia Bill of rights Art I Section 13 and your oath of office. Sic Semper Tyrannis. Remember that Helmer

I support this bill because training ensures that permit holders are aware of responsible practices for handling and carrying guns in public.

I oppose the following bills. HB110 | Laufer | Firearm in unattended motor vehicle; civil penalty. This is an attempt to criminalize the victim. Where else can I person store a firearm to go into a non permissible location. This is especially important on an unexpected visit to such a location HB21 | Helmer | Firearm industry members; creates standards of responsible conduct, civil liability. This is an obvious attempt to sue businesses out of business. HB217 | Helmer | Assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices; importation, sale, etc., prohibited. Millions of these are already in VA and the rest of the country. According to the Bruin decision, these are already in common use. HB24 | Helmer | Concealed handgun permits; reciprocity with other states. VA enjoys one of the broadest reciprocity agreements in the country. Is this based on any evidence or just feel good measure. HB40 | Simon | Plastic firearms or receivers, unserialized firearms, etc.; transfer, etc., prohibited, penalties. Since before the creation of this country the people have had the right to produce their own firearms.

I am asking that you kill HB24 in committee. This bill could negatively affect my and many other Virginian's ability to protect themselves and their families when traveling out of state. Under current law, any out-of-state permit is recognized in the Commonwealth within certain guidelines. If Virginia stops recognizing the validity of other states concealed carry permits, it is likely that those states will stop recognizing the validity of the Virginia permit. If anyone chooses to carry a firearm to protect themselves and/or their family, it is hard enough as it is when you travel from state to state. Things should not be done to make it more difficult. Things should be done to make it easier. Just like a driver's license, a concealed carry permit from one state should be recognized in all 50 states.

I am writing to express strong opposition to Virginia House Bill 24 (2026) as currently drafted. While conceal carry reciprocity may sound administrative at first glance, the substance of this bill represents a significant restriction on the rights of law-abiding gun owners and undermines longstanding principles of interstate reciprocity without demonstrable public safety benefits. Under current law, Virginia recognizes concealed handgun permits from other states so long as certain objective criteria are met, including 24/7 verification capabilities and valid identification verification. HB 24 would fundamentally alter this framework by giving the Superintendent of State Police and the Attorney General broad discretionary authority to review and potentially revoke recognition of permits from other states based on subjective assessments of whether other states’ requirements “adequately prevent” issuance to persons who would be denied under Virginia law. 1. Erodes Reciprocity, Creates Legal Uncertainty, and Punishes Law-Abiding Citizens Reciprocity exists to ensure that responsible permit holders can travel and exercise their constitutional rights without fear of inadvertently breaking the law. HB 24 creates a patchwork of variable enforcement by allowing unilateral withdrawal of recognition of other states’ permits. This threatens Virginians’ ability to travel safely and carry for self-defense and deters responsible out-of-state visitors.  2. Adds Bureaucratic Hurdles Without Improving Public Safety The review process in the bill imposes additional bureaucracy without evidence that current reciprocity agreements have contributed to criminal misuse. Law-abiding concealed handgun permit holders have extremely low rates of revocation for criminal behavior, and criminals do not obtain or follow permit laws. Targeting permit recognition does not make the public safer; it burdens citizens who comply with lawful requirements.  3. Undermines Second Amendment Principles and Interstate Cooperation The Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, and while states have authority to set permit standards, they should not use reciprocity reviews as a tool to restrict that right indirectly. Removing or narrowing reciprocity rights without clear, evidence-based justification undermines respect for constitutional liberties and statewide cooperation.  If limiting the recognition of valid permits is justified now, future proposals could impose further restrictions on law-abiding gun owners under the same rationales. Responsible citizens deserve policies that protect their rights, not incremental erosion through administrative fiat.  Conclusion For these reasons, I respectfully urge the Virginia General Assembly to reject House Bill 24 in its current form and instead pursue policies that protect constitutional rights, maintain clear and fair permit recognition standards, and focus enforcement resources on actual criminal behavior—not lawful permit holders.

This is nothing more than another attack on lawful gun owners. Democrats hate constitutional carry and cry about needing a license/ permit to exercise a Constitutionally protected right. Yet when we get said permit and jump through all their loops, they turn around and do everything they can to limit where you can carry, they actively try to ban carry in as many places as they can. Their end goal is to force you to not carry or make you a felon if caught carrying where they don’t want you to. Our rights don’t end at state lines Virginia needs Constitutional carry not further restrictions.

HB217: This is an attempt at limiting the rights of Virginians in the face of our national and state constitutions. Further, it is out of line with current constitutional legal scholarship as established by the Bruen ruling in 2022. As a responsible gun owner I believe we should hold ourselves to high standards and that training, safe storage, and mental health care should be among our priorities. However, this law does not reflect that the majority of firearm deaths occur via suicide or accident with handguns. This applies to violent crimes as well, handguns, not so called assault weapons are used in the outstanding majority of instances. HB24: concealed handgun reciprocity should not end at state lines, carry is part of our constitutional right and the state of Virginia should do everything in its power to ensure reciprocity from as many states as possible and offer reciprocity in return so that 2nd amendment rights are not infringed. HB40: Manufacture of arms is in line with the 2nd amendment tradition of our country. Requiring arbitrarily assigned serial numbers and limiting means of manufacture serves no purpose other than to infringe on the rights of the people. Further, what many fail to understand is that the production of arms, especially those made by means of 3d printing is not as simple as pressing a button. Time, design work, and other accessory parts are necessary. The danger is not that criminals can buy a 3d printer and print as many guns as they’d like at the press of the button. The issue is that we have representatives who do not understand or are too intellectually dishonest to admit that manufacture of arms to include those 3d printed is not simple, straightforward, or causing any major spike in crime.

This commonwealth has a rich history of being a shining example of freedom. The home of “Give me liberty, or give me death” is now the home of purposed bills that disgrace the very fabric of this state. I urge you, especially in these unprecedented times, to not support any infringement of the constitution. Democrats have been given such a great opportunity to lead this state, but unconstitutional bills that take away 2nd amendment rights, that will get turned over in Supreme Court, and waste time and energy of this state, need to be shut down. Please take the temperature of your constituents, no one wants this. No one voted for this. This reeks of Bloomberg’s agenda, and not of the people who entrusted you to lead us in these troubling times.