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Democratic Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner announced they were introducing legislation targeting the rights of gun owners, including a ban on modern semiautomatic firearms and a nationwide “red flag” law.

Democrats in the Virginia state Legislature passed a host of laws, including a ban targeting so-called “assault weapons,” another bill banning supposed “ghost guns” and bills targeting the firearms industry, many of which have been signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Kaine and Warner announced the introduction of their legislation, S 4339 or “The Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act,” in an April 16 release.

“Nineteen years ago today, 32 people were tragically killed at Virginia Tech in a senseless act of violence. I was Governor of Virginia at the time, and my memories of the grieving families, friends, and Hokie community will stay with me forever. I’m proud of the Commonwealth’s leadership in taking steps to keep Virginians safe and prevent future tragedies in the years since,” Kaine, the bill’s primary sponsor, said in the release.

Second Amendment supporters blasted the legislation, arguing it proved that the desire for restricting Second Amendment rights from Virginia Democrats, who seized power in the state in November 2025, were not limited to the state level.

“The NRA has been warning for months that Virginia was never the end game — it was just the beginning. Senators Kaine and Warner’s ‘Virginia Plan’ proves it: this sweeping federal bill nationalizes the Commonwealth’s extreme gun control agenda — including bans on semi-automatic firearm, homemade firearms prohibitions, one-handgun-a-month limits, red flag laws, storage mandates, and more,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is not just a warning, it’s a wake-up call that if progressive politicians retake Washington, they will immediately try to destroy the rights of every law-abiding gun owner in America.”

“It punishes regular citizens and does nothing for crime,” Virginia Civil Defense League President Phillip Van Cleave told the DCNF.

The 13-point plan from Kaine and Warner leads rations gunowners to “one-gun-a-month,” and mandates reporting of lost or stolen firearms before adding new mandates for purported “child access prevention.”

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The bill also would impose bans on so-called “assault weapons” and “ghost guns,” create new gun-free zones around colleges and mental health facilities and potentially criminalize parents giving their children firearms as presents.

“Far too many communities throughout the United States have been shattered by gun violence just as Blacksburg was,” Kaine said. “That’s why I’m introducing legislation to build on our progress and implement our strategies on the national level. We must build a world where everyone can go to school, work, their place of worship, a grocery store, or a festival without the fear of gun violence.”

“Too many families across the country have experienced gun violence,” Warner claimed. “I am proud of the Commonwealth for leading the way in implementing commonsense gun reforms, and it’s time for the country to follow.”

“Assault weapons” is a euphemism that gun-control advocates use to gain support for banning certain semi-automatic firearms with features that provide a cosmetic similarity to firearms capable of fully-automatic operation.

The term “ghost guns” is a euphemism that targets firearms made by people for their personal use – often involving the use of partially completed receivers or computer code for 3D printers. While a federal firearms license is required to manufacture firearms as a business, according to 18 USC 922, federal law does allow for private citizens to make their own firearms for personal use.

The “Virginia Plan” bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it is unlikely to reach the Senate floor in the 119th Congress.

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