Calls grow louder for Spanberger to veto gun control bills

Second Amendment advocates in Virginia are rallying activists to demand vetoes of a handful of gun control bills headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League and the National Rifle Association are amplifying the message during the final days of the 2026 General Assembly.

This year’s General Assembly ends on Saturday.

Ms. Spanberger is expected to sign any gun control bills that will come before her.

Senate Bill 727 bans the carrying of many common semi-automatic firearms on public property. These firearms include semi-automatic rifles and pistols that have a fixed magazine with more than 10 rounds, a standard magazine of over 20 rounds, have a folding stock or have a barrel that can accept suppressors.

A violation of this prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is the most serious class of misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500 or both.

“Concealed handgun permit holders and licensed security guards are no longer exempt from this code section, even though neither one has caused any legal issues by carrying such loaded firearms publicly for over a decade,” the Virginia Citizens Defense League said. “Of course, the government, our servant, exempts itself from all this nonsense.”

Senate Bill 749 would ban “assault firearms” and “large capacity” magazines. Once the bill is transmitted to the governor, she will have seven days to sign or veto it, or it becomes law without her signature. If signed, the bill will take effect on July 1.

“Instead of upholding the rights of Virginians, tyrants in Richmond have voted to gut the Constitution and turn peaceable gun owners into felons,” Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said.

Senate Bill 27 & House Bill 21 would establish a comprehensive set of standards for “responsible conduct” for members of the firearm industry, including manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

Businesses would have to set up and implement “reasonable controls” over the manufacture, sale, distribution, use and marketing of firearm-related products.

It also creates a broad civil cause of action, allowing the state attorney general, local prosecutors or individuals to sue firearm businesses seeking injunctions, damages and other costs.

“This is a direct attack on the firearm industry and is designed to regulate the industry out of existence through litigation — despite longstanding federal protections,” the National Rifle Association said.

House Bill 40 is also on its way to Ms. Spanberger’s desk. It makes building, importing, selling, transfering or possessing unserialized or plastic firearms a Class 5 felony.

A Class 5 felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

Democratic voters are more pragmatic, internally divided than you think

A new national survey conducted by the Manhattan Institute finds that many voters within today’s Democratic coalition are more moderate than media narratives suggest.

The survey, which reached 2,593 respondents who are either registered Democrats and/or voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, revealed that more Democrats would like to see their party shift to the center than to the left.

The poll identified three factions among these Democratic voters: moderates (47%), progressive liberals (37%) and the “woke fringe” (11%).

The Manhattan Institute said the moderates “favor middle-of-the-road views across most contentious policy issues,” while the progressive liberals “lean left but remain close to their party’s institutional mainstream.”

The woke fringe faction takes “maximalist positions” and is “disproportionately young and conspiratorial.”

Indiana governor cheered for anti-sanctuary law

The America First Policy Institute lauded Indiana Gov. Mike Braun for signing a law that locks in the state’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

The think tank said the legislation, known as SB 76, “significantly improves” immigration enforcement by mandating all jurisdictions to honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.

The new law also authorizes the state attorney general to enforce this requirement through injunctive relief and civil penalties.

SB 76 also protects American workers by prohibiting employers from hiring illegal workers and by authorizing the state attorney general to enforce compliance through the revocation of business licenses.

Finally, the new law helps identify benefits fraud and abuse through the collection and reporting of specific non-identifiable data of recipients.

Sen. Mike Lee’s worker bill gets boosters

A group of free-market and pro-business advocates has lined up behind a new bill by Sen. Mike Lee that tries to settle the current uncertainty over whether a worker is a traditional employee or a freelancer.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heritage Action and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council gave the thumbs up to the 21st Century Worker Act, a bill intended to deregulate employment processes and provide flexibility for independent contractors and employees.

“It creates a structure that allows workers and businesses to mutually elect classification when traditional categories do not squarely apply,” said Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. “SBE Council urges Congress to take swift action on S. 2159 to ensure federal policy supports, rather than undermines, flexible work and small business growth in the 21st century.”

The legislation would create a bright-line test by outlining the most common factors that make a worker an independent contractor and the most common factors that make a worker an employee.

It would also create a third category for workers who do not cleanly meet the definition of an independent contractor or employee, and it defines the process for workers and businesses to mutually elect worker status in instances when a worker cannot be cleanly classified as either an independent contractor or an employee.

• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com.