Virginians are 'buying the living daylights' out of AR-15s and other soon-to-be illegal guns (copy)
The countdown to Virginia's new assault weapons ban is playing out at gun counters across the commonwealth.
Customers are snapping up AR-15s, gun manufacturers are rushing shipments to Virginia retailers and store owners say firearms are flying off shelves ahead of a July 1 deadline that will dramatically restrict what guns can be legally sold in the state.
Recent FBI data suggests Virginia gun stores are seeing a huge surge in demand. In May, Virginia recorded 75,376 background checks — more than double the total from the same month last year. While background checks are not a direct measure of gun sales, they’re widely used as an industry indicator.
Southern Police Equipment owner and president Karen Ballengee and manager Jeff Connolly are seen in their Chesterfield County store May 28. Ballengee said that the new Virginia laws, which restrict the sale and purchase of certain semiautomatic firearms and magazines holding more than 15 rounds, are changing her business: "It's a big hurt because several different guns, even some hunting guns, are falling into that category, so as an owner of a gun store, I have no idea how bad it's going to hurt come July 1."
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“They’re buying the living daylights out of ARs,” said Karen Ballengee, owner of Southern Police Equipment (formerly Southern Gun World) in Chesterfield County. "They're buying guns as fast as they can get their hands on them."
Customers are looking for ARs, AR pistols and regular handguns with a threaded barrel to accept sound suppressors, Ballengee said.
"This gun itself would be illegal," Ballengee said, holding a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a pistol grip, "and your grandfather's probably got 10 of them in his closet."
Many gun manufacturers are giving Virginia stores priority shipping to help Virginians get the firearms they want before it's too late.
The surge in sales comes after Virginia lawmakers passed legislation restricting the sale and purchase of certain semiautomatic firearms and magazines holding more than 15 rounds. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the bill into law last month, and the restrictions are set to take effect July 1.
At New American Arms in Richmond, general manager Tony Martin said sales have been on the rise since January, after Congress eliminated a long-standing federal transfer tax on suppressors and certain federally regulated firearms. The shop on Broad Street is billed as Central Virginia's only full-service gun shop; with gunsmiths on staff, the business provides training, repairs and builds custom rifles.
“We were inundated with requests to purchase and transfer NFA items, particularly silencers,” Martin said, referring to firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act.
Then, he said, Virginia’s new legislation accelerated the rush even further. He estimates sales of firearms potentially affected by the law are up by 30-50%.
Martin, a retired law enforcement officer, said many of his customers are confused about which firearms or accessories will fall under the restrictions and come in seeking clarification.
“Most citizens, especially our customers, want to follow the law,” he said. “They ask us all the time, ‘Can I do this? Should I do that? Is this OK?’ They’re hungry to understand it.”
Many customers are buying extra guns that they hadn't been planning on buying in December.
"Now that they know what's happening, they've said, you know, we have the budget for it ... let's go get an extra," he said.
On a recent Monday afternoon, GreenTop Sporting Goods in Hanover was packed with customers at the gun counter, grumbling about the new law and wishing they could take all the New Yorkers who moved to Virginia and send them back. Pallets of AR-15s lined the floors, and signs posted around the store let customers know that layaways impacted by the new law must be picked up by May 31.
Various guns are seen at Southern Police Equipment on May 28. In May, Virginia recorded 75,376 background checks — more than double the total from the same month last year. Although background checks are not a direct measure of gun sales, they’re widely used as an industry indicator.
Some commonwealth's attorneys say they won't enforce
As of Tuesday, 14 commonwealth's attorneys across the state have said they will not enforce the ban, calling it unconstitutional.
Page County Commonwealth's Attorney Chapman Good was one of the latest to announce he will not enforce the law on Friday.
"The legislation set to take effect July 1 is inconsistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation in Virginia, in violation of Bruen," he wrote, referring to the 2022 Supreme Court case that ruled that New York's law was unconstitutional and that the ability to bear arms in public was a constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
"It also infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for self-defense, and for service in the Virginia militia ..." Good wrote.
He joins a group of 13 other top prosecutors who have declared they will not enforce the law, which will make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, for people to buy, sell, transfer, import or manufacture what is deemed an assault firearm.
Other commonwealth's attorneys who vowed not to enforce the ban include those from the nearby counties of Appomattox, Goochland and Powhatan.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement that commonwealth's attorneys are elected to enforce the laws, which he expects them to do when they take effect July 1.
"Gun violence is a key driver of violent crime, and the leading cause of death for young people in our commonwealth," Jones said. "The General Assembly passed and the governor signed critical legislation to reduce violent crime and protect our communities."
Southern Police Equipment owner and president Karen Ballengee talks about her business in Chesterfield on May 28. As of Tuesday, 14 commonwealth's attorneys across the state have said they will not enforce Virginia's new assault weapons ban, calling it unconstitutional.
Shifting business models
Although Virginia gun shops will not be able to sell certain firearms in their stores come July 1, they will still be able to sell them online to out-of-state customers.
Martin, the general manager of New American Arms, said that if his lawyers advise it, he will pull all the affected firearms and accessories from the sales floor at the end of the day on June 30.
"Certainly, it will have an impact (on business) if America's most popular rifle cannot suddenly cannot be sold," Martin said, referring to the AR-15.
"We'll continue our online sales as far as managing our inventory, so it's not like there's a flag on the play and the game comes to a screeching halt. It will change the way we do things, and certainly for our local customers, it's going to be a challenge for them, and that's why we're seeing them here in advance and buying extra guns."
Ballengee, the owner of Southern Police Equipment, also said the new laws are changing her business.
"It's a big hurt because several different guns, even some hunting guns, are falling into that category, so as an owner of a gun store, I have no idea how bad it's going to hurt come July 1," she said. "But the beauty of my store is we've created the online gun store that gives us the opportunity to sell across the country, and it will save us."
"Once this law goes into effect, you can't sell the guns in Virginia, but they cannot control where we sell our guns," Balengee said.
A sign for Southern Police Equipment in Chesterfield County is seen on May 28. According to the owner, Karen Ballengee, customers are "buying the living daylights out of ARs. ... They're buying guns as fast as they can get their hands on them."
How we got here
Virginians last fall elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger to the governor's office. On the campaign trail, she promised she would sign what she called "common-sense gun violence prevention bills," including proposals to ban the purchase and sale of assault-style weapons.
The former governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, had vetoed similar bills when he was in office. At the time, he said: “I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms.”
Democrats in the state legislature who passed the bills say it's a way to save lives. More than 100 children and teens die by guns every year in Virginia, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guns are the No. 1 cause of death for children and teens in Virginia, followed by car crashes, according to CDC data. The same is true for the U.S.
Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, who introduced the House bill to ban the purchase and sale of assault-style weapons in Virginia, said these types of weapons "have no place in our communities."
"There's a real difference between Democrats and Republicans on this issue," Helmer told reporters at the Capitol the afternoon his bill passed.
"We believe that weapons similar to those I carried in Iraq and Afghanistan have no place in our communities and (Republicans) want our communities to be war zones ... We're not OK with that."
Gov. Abigail Spanberger is seen last month signing House Bill 217 and Senate Bill 749, which say buying or selling a semiautomatic gun should be a crime, subject to up to 12 months in jail.
Spanberger had tried to carve out exceptions for guns commonly used for hunting, but the legislature did not accept her proposed amendments.
“I am signing this bill into law because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets. We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe,” Spanberger said in a statement when she signed the legislation. “While the General Assembly chose not to adopt my amendment that specifically carves out certain firearms frequently used for hunting, I will work with the patrons to clarify this language.”
Many gun owners hope that the courts will overturn the ban, as there are already several legal challenges to it in both state and federal courts.
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