Assault firearms & certain ammunition feeding devices; purchase, sale, etc., prohibited, penalties.

The bill title and header were updated to reflect a 'House Substitute' instead of a 'Public Safety Substitute,' indicating the bill is now sponsored by the House of Delegates rather than the Senate.

The bill number was changed from 26108724D to 26109153D to reflect the new amendment sequence.

The date of proposal was updated from February 27, 2026, to March 4, 2026, reflecting the new introduction date.

The line item identifying the 'Patron Prior to Substitute' as Senator Salim was removed, consistent with the shift to a House-sponsored bill.

The layout and formatting of the header information were altered to match the standard format for a House Substitute bill.

The definition of 'immediate family' eligible to receive a gifted assault firearm was expanded to include grandparents.

New exemptions were added for federal firearms licensees, security personnel at contracted defense facilities, and the temporary loan of assault firearms by firing ranges for target shooting or training.

The proposing committee was changed from the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations to the House Committee on Public Safety, and the date was updated to February 27, 2026.

The date the bill was offered for consideration was changed from January 26, 2026, to February 4, 2026.

The proposing committee was changed from the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

The list of sections being amended was shortened in the summary, removing references to §§ 18.2-308.09, 18.2-308.2:1, 18.2-308.2:3, 18.2-308.2:5, and 18.2-308.7, though the full text of those sections remains unchanged in the body.

The document format changed from an approved 'Enrolled' bill to a 'Substitute' draft, adding Senate committee headers, page numbers, and draft markings while removing the final approval statement.

Several instances of the phrase 'shall be is guilty of' were corrected to 'shall be guilty of' to fix a grammatical error present in the original text.

Minor wording adjustments were made to the list of exemptions for assault firearms, such as changing 'security personnel' to 'or employee' and updating repair exemptions to include 'gunsmith for service or repairs'.

The definition of 'immediate family member' was slightly narrowed by removing 'grandparents' from the list of eligible recipients for gifted assault firearms.

Added a new prohibition on any person under 21 years of age from importing, selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing, transporting, or transferring assault firearms.

Created new offenses for possessing assault firearms and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, establishing them as Class 1 misdemeanors.

Mandated that dealers verify the purchaser is 21 or older before selling an assault firearm manufactured before July 1, 2026.

Updated the definition of 'assault firearm' to include specific characteristics like folding stocks, pistol grips, and threaded barrels, while exempting antique firearms and those manufactured before July 1, 2026.

Added new penalties for dealers who sell assault firearms to prohibited persons and for individuals who attempt to facilitate such illegal transfers.

Expanded the list of exemptions for assault firearm possession to include federal firearms licensees, certain military personnel, and family members inheriting such weapons.