# Virginia SB312: Assault firearms; carrying in public areas prohibited, penalty.

Virginia SB312, Assault firearms; carrying in public areas prohibited, penalty., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Adam P. Ebbin (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-01-26 (Incorporated by Courts of Justice (SB727-Jones) (13-Y 0-N)) (as of 2026-11-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB312-2026
- As of: 2026-11-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB312
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Assault firearms; carrying in public areas prohibited, penalty.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-01-26, Incorporated by Courts of Justice (SB727-Jones) (13-Y 0-N)
- Sponsor: Adam P. Ebbin (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (13 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty. Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles, pistols, and shotguns or any firearm modified to be operable as an assault firearm on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions. Under current law, the prohibition on carrying certain shotguns and semi-automatic center-fire rifles and pistols applies to a narrower range of firearms, only in certain localities, and only when such firearms are loaded. A violation of this prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill was incorporated into SB 727.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Adam P. Ebbin (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-01-26 | Senate | Incorporated by Courts of Justice (SB727-Jones) | pass | 13 | 0 |   |

## Actions (5)

- 2026-01-26: Incorporated by Courts of Justice (SB727-Jones) (13-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB312) (Senate)
- 2026-01-15: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/15/2026 2:49 pm) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101889D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088845.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088844.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB253: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- SB226: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure, etc. (signed)
- SB225: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership. (signed)

## Sources
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088845.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088844.PDF)

## Related
- [HB20: Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB20-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB253: Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB253-2026)
- [SB226: Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB226-2026)
- [SB225: Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB225-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB312-2026 (as of 2026-11-06).