On April 10, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that he signed five (5) new gun control laws, which will go into effect on July 1, 2020.
New Virginia gun laws include:
- A requirement of background checks on all firearm sales, which includes specific criminal punishments for gun buyers and sellers
- The establishment of an “Extreme Protective Order,” which gives law enforcement and prosecutors the ability to seize guns from individuals if a judge determines by a preponderance of the evidence that there is a substantial risk of injury
- The reinstatement of Virginia’s one-handgun-a-month rule
- A requirement that gun owners report their lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement within 48 hours and if they are not compliant, they will face a civil penalty
- An increase in the penalty for recklessly leaving firearms in the presence of children
Be sure to check back in July for LeCruise Law’s criminal law legislative update.