Last updated July 2026 · By Nick Hall, covers gun laws and the Second Amendment for USA Gun Shop
Quick take: On July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia seeking to block Senate Bill 749, a new law banning firearms the state classifies as ‘assault firearms.’ Days earlier, a Virginia state court had already issued a statewide preliminary injunction pausing the law before its July 1 effective date. As of publication, the ban is on hold and now faces challenges on two fronts.
- What it is: A federal DOJ lawsuit filed against Virginia (and the Virginia State Police) to block state law SB 749 on Second Amendment grounds.
- Key detail: SB 749 bans the import, sale, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of firearms Virginia classifies as ‘assault firearms.’
- Status: A Virginia state court has already paused enforcement with a preliminary injunction; the law was scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026.
- Who it affects: Virginia gun owners, dealers, and manufacturers, plus anyone watching how assault-weapons bans fare in court nationwide.
What the DOJ filed and what it wants
The Justice Department is asking a federal court to strike down Virginia’s ban before it can be enforced. On July 1, 2026, the DOJ filed suit against the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia State Police, arguing that SB 749 violates the Second Amendment. A lawsuit like this is a request for a court to act, not a ruling in itself: it opens a case, and a judge decides later whether the law stands or falls.
The core of the government’s argument is that Virginia’s ban is unconstitutional because it restricts firearms that, in the DOJ’s view, are in common lawful use. The Commonwealth will have a chance to respond and defend the statute. Nothing in the filing changes the law’s status on its own, and no final decision has been reached.
What SB 749 actually does
SB 749 bans a broad range of activity around what Virginia calls ‘assault firearms.’ As written, the law prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, purchase, and transfer of firearms in that category. It was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026, the same day the DOJ filed its federal challenge.
Laws that group firearms under an ‘assault’ label typically define the category by specific models and features rather than by how a gun functions, and the exact scope of any such ban usually becomes a central fight in litigation. If you want to see how Virginia’s approach compares with rules elsewhere, our US Gun Laws by State: 2026 Directory tracks the patchwork across all 50 states.
The state-court injunction that came first
Before the federal suit landed, a Virginia state court had already hit pause on the law. On or about June 29, 2026, the court issued a statewide preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of SB 749 ahead of its July 1 effective date. A separate public-carry restriction tied to the broader package was delayed on its own timetable, to July 1, 2027.
A preliminary injunction temporarily blocks a law while a case moves forward. It is a hold, not a verdict: the court has not decided the underlying question of whether the ban is lawful, only that enforcement should wait until the issue is fully argued. That means Virginia’s ban was already on hold when the DOJ arrived.
Why this matters beyond Virginia
Virginia is now one of two states the DOJ challenged on the same day. The Justice Department filed a similar lawsuit against California over its own firearms restrictions on July 1, 2026, signaling a coordinated federal push against state-level bans. The Virginia case sits at the intersection of state and federal courts, with two separate challenges running at once.
For gun owners, the practical takeaway is simple: as of publication the ban is not being enforced, but its long-term fate is unsettled and will turn on how the courts rule. Because many rifles fall into the categories these bans target, shoppers often ask what remains widely available and popular; our roundup of the 10 Best AR-15 Rifles (2026) gives a sense of the market at the center of this debate. We will update this post as the litigation develops.
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