A judge in Lynchburg has put the brakes on Virginia’s efforts to require background checks for private gun sales - sparking a new round of debate over gun rights, public safety, and who has the final say on gun control.

A new Virginia law banning certain assault weapons and high-capacity magazines has passed the General Assembly and is now heading to Governor Spanberger for her signature.

Governor Glenn Youngkin was faced with gun control legislation for the first time in two years as governor.

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a law banning licensed federal firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under 21 violates the Second Amendment and is unconstitutional. The ruling came Wednesday. It would prevent dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds. Four plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of the 1968 law and associated regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after they were turned down when they tried to buy handguns. Wednesday's ruling is the latest decision striking down gun laws in the wake of a landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling. That ruling changed the test courts have long used to evaluate challenges to firearm restrictions.

Just as federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle set their differences aside to pass a bipartisan gun safety law, a tragic shooting happened at an Independence Day Parade in Illinois, killing seven people and injuring dozens more.

The Virginia Senate rejected the governor’s amendments to a bill that restricts the gun rights of anyone convicted for assault and battery of a family member.

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Senate has blocked one of Gov. Ralph Northam’s top gun-control bills, making it another measure the Democratic governor supports that may not pass the legislature. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Monday against a bill that would make it a felony to “recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm” in a way that endangers a minor. The legislation is one of eight gun measures that the governor has urged lawmakers to adopt. Virginia has become ground zero in the nation’s raging debate over gun control and mass shootings as a new Democratic majority has pledged to put strict new limits in place.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. spoke out against gun control measures supported by Virginia Democrats during an interview on a conservative radio show on Monday. During an appearance on Todd Starnes’ conservative podcast, ToddCast, Falwell said he’s never seen people more “energized” over any other issue in Virginia than in the current debate over gun rights. Starnes went on to say that these rights are “under attack" as Virginia Democrats advance with gun control measures in the General Assembly. “I’m pretty sure I’m gonna call for civil disobedience if the Democrats go through with this," Fallwell said. I mean, that’s how the Civil Rights Act got passed, was civil disobedience...

Northam said that he believes in the right to assemble and the right to bear arms but that there have been threats of violence made on the Virginia Capitol. And if that is your group or your intention on Monday, then you are not welcome," said Col. Gary Settle, the superintendent of Virginia State Police. Streets immediately surrounding Capitol grounds will be closed and there’s going to be additional fencing around the Capitol building. “It makes no sense to ban every other weapon and allow firearms, when intelligence shows a threat of armed militia groups storming our Capitol," Northam said. The public can sign up to get weather, traffic and emergency incident email or text alerts through the Virginia State Capitol Alert Network.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg City Council members voted against making the city a Second Amendment sanctuary after hours of input from local citizens. The vote was 5-2 against Lynchburg joining more than 100 cities and counties in Virginia that have approved Second Amendment sanctuary status to declare their support for gun rights. City leaders moved Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to E.C. Curt Diemer is the petition organizer who has pushed for Lynchburg to become a sanctuary city. Lynchburg’s representative, Wendell Walker, was also in the crowd Tuesday night, coming from Richmond to make his voice heard and remind Lynchburg citizens of one thing.

Ralph Northam plans to declare a temporary emergency Wednesday banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square ahead of a massive rally planned next week over gun rights. Northam’s planned announcement comes days after Democratic leaders used a special rules committee to ban guns inside the Capitol and a legislative office building. That ban did not include Capitol grounds, which are under the governor’s control and are where a huge number of gun-rights advocates are expected to rally Monday. One official said Northam decided to ban all guns from the grounds of Capitol Square after receiving reports for weeks about inflammatory online postings by out-of-state pro-gun and militia groups who are promising to attend Monday’s rally. Gun laws have become a dominant issue this legislative session and there’s been a heavy police at the Capitol.

RICHMOND, Va. – Proposals for stricter gun laws quickly moved forward in the Virginia legislature on Monday, as the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee sent four gun control bills to the Senate floor. 10 News political analyst Dr. Ed Lynch said the response from gun rights supporters may put pressure on some Democrats. First, the pressure on some Democrats may mean some gun control measures end up being more moderate. Lynch said some Democrats may be influenced by the Second Amendment sanctuaries that have pledged to resist new gun laws. Secondly, Lynch thinks many gun control laws would immediately go into litigation, with some reaching higher appeals courts where they will face judges who are President Donald Trump appointees, making the gun debate outcome uncertain in the long run.