Virginia Gun Sales Surge as Democrats Move Dozens of New Restrictions

Virginians flocked to their native gun shops final month with new laws looming on the horizon.

A brand new business report launched on Wednesday exhibits Virginia shot up the nationwide leaderboard for the variety of sales-related background checks run via the Nationwide On the spot Legal Background Test System (NICS) in February. As Democrats moved dozens of gun payments via the legislature, together with an “assault weapons” ban, Virginia surged to fifth place, with over 65,000 sales-related checks, and landed simply behind Texas and Florida, with 14,230 checks associated to highly-regulated Nationwide Firearms Act (NFA) gadgets–all regardless of having simply the Twelfth-largest inhabitants.

These NFA merchandise checks continued their meteoric rise nationwide for the reason that tax on silencers and short-barrel weapons was slashed to $0, rising 167 p.c from February 2025. Gross sales-related NICS checks rose by about 3.5 p.c year-over-year throughout all the United States, in response to a Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Basis (NSSF) evaluation of FBI knowledge, making February simply the second month within the final twelve to see a rise.

The elevated demand in Virginia continues a pattern that started after November, when Democrats swept the election and took management of all levers of state energy. It signifies that, even with the nationwide business in a prolonged downturn from its all-time peaks throughout the pandemic, the specter of new gun restrictions nonetheless motivates gun consumers. The modest nationwide enhance additionally gives a shiny spot for the gun business, even when general sales-related checks leveled off across the similar mark they hit over a decade in the past.

NSSF, the commerce group for the gun business, celebrated Wednesday’s numbers.

“February’s adjusted background checks present that the need for lawful gun possession is alive and nicely,” Mark Oliva, the group’s spokesman, stated in a press release. “Moreover, 2026 is proving to be the Yr of the Suppressor with over 200,000 Nationwide Firearms Act (NFA) checks in February alone, representing a 167 p.c enhance over the identical time interval final 12 months. This proves there was pent-up demand and the knowledge of eradicating high-cost boundaries of entry to exercising rights.”

Oliva was prepared to attribute the rise in checks in Virginia particularly and on to the political environment there.

“We proceed to see the pattern of gun house owners shopping for the firearms of their selecting in states the place Second Modification rights are threatened and earlier than that proper is unconstitutionally disadvantaged of them,” he stated. “Virginia’s background checks have been greater than 23,000 increased in February than they have been a 12 months in the past. That’s a rise of greater than 55 p.c, which adopted a virtually 26 p.c enhance final month within the face of a looming ban on the most well-liked centerfire rifle in America – the Trendy Sporting Rifle.”

Virginia Democrats have superior a slate of recent gun-control payments since reaching full management of the legislature and governor’s mansion. They’ve pursued all the things from increasing the state’s “Crimson Flag” legislation to banning the sale of AR-15s to proscribing ammunition journal sizes to gun storage necessities to new restrictions on who can carry weapons and the place they will carry them. Whereas a number of proposals, corresponding to a $500 tax on silencers, didn’t cross both chamber, 33 made it via a minimum of one and are presently working their method via the crossover session.

Whereas the NICS checks numbers counsel a considerable variety of Virginians are nervous concerning the new restrictions, a latest ballot from Roanoke Faculty exhibits residents are cut up on what must be accomplished on gun coverage. In a scientific ballot of 800 Virginians with a margin of error of 4.4 p.c, 49 p.c stated defending the rights of gun house owners was extra vital than controlling weapons. 48 p.c stated the other. Each positions have been at their highest degree of help in a couple of decade.

The near-even cut up carried over to some coverage proposals, corresponding to banning semi-automatic handguns or shotguns and magazines that maintain greater than 10 rounds. Banning semi-automatic rifles and undefined “assault rifles” noticed help from 57 and 59 p.c of respondents, respectively.

A handful of insurance policies garnered higher help, although. 67 p.c stated all weapons ought to need to be registered with the state authorities, and 71 p.c stated all house owners ought to need to get a license. On the similar time, 80 p.c of the respondents opposed banning all weapons.

Virginians have been divided concerning the potential affect the proposed gun restrictions would have, too. 51 p.c stated they anticipated new gun restrictions would both make them much less secure or haven’t any affect in any respect. In the meantime, 61 p.c stated the identical for proscribing gun carry. 56 p.c additionally stated specializing in higher enforcement of gun legal guidelines would have a higher affect than passing new ones.

“Virginians clearly help quite a lot of gun management measures, however many query their efficacy,” Dr. Harry Wilson, interim director of Roanoke Faculty’s Institute for Coverage and Opinion Analysis, stated in a press release. “A majority helps bans on basically any and all semi-automatic firearms. However many suppose present gun legal guidelines aren’t the reason for mass shootings, and fewer than half suppose that stricter legal guidelines will make them safer. There’s additionally sturdy help for gun registration and proprietor licensing, laws which can be anathema to many Second Modification supporters.”

Virginia isn’t the one state that’s skilled a gross sales examine surge in obvious response to proposed gun restrictions. In Could, Colorado made a fair larger leap into NSSF’s prime 5, regardless of being simply the twenty first most populous state. That spike occurred because the state legislature adopted a permit-to-possess legislation for AR-15s and related firearms.

NICS checks are broadly thought-about one of the best gauge for gun gross sales in America as a result of gun sellers are required to conduct them on all gross sales to prospects and all new weapons are bought via sellers. Nonetheless, the FBI makes use of NICS for issues like hid carry allow purposes along with gun gross sales, which is why NSSF examines the FBI’s month-to-month NICS studies to exclude all non-sales checks from the rely and publish its personal adjusted metric. Nevertheless, as NSSF itself cautions, NICS checks–even their adjusted figures–don’t symbolize a one-to-one correlation with gross sales for a number of causes.

“It must be famous that these statistics symbolize the variety of firearm background checks initiated via the NICS,” the group stated in its evaluation. “They don’t symbolize the variety of firearms bought or gross sales {dollars}. Primarily based on various state legal guidelines, native market circumstances and buy situations, a one-to-one correlation can’t be made between a firearm background examine and a firearm sale.”