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This article is part of\u00a0Upstream,<\/a>\u00a0The Daily Wire\u2019s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories \u2014 from our featured writers to you.<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Virginia gun culture is in danger thanks to <\/span>a wave of gun control legislation<\/span><\/a> just passed by the state legislature. Among other bills awaiting Governor Abigail Spanberger\u2019s signature is a so-called <\/span>assault<\/span><\/a> weapons<\/span><\/a> ban that, according to the <\/span>National Rifle Association<\/span><\/a>, would \u201cprohibit the future sale and transfer of virtually all modern firearms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While a provocative statement, it\u2019s not incorrect. The crown jewel bill of Virginia Democrats\u2019 crown jewel cause would ban the sale and importation of \u201cassault firearms,\u201d which is broadly defined as encompassing any centerfire rifle with a detachable magazine and one of several common features, such as a pistol grip, a collapsible stock, or a threaded barrel. Effectively, this covers all modern rifles chambered in something larger than 22LR, including commonly owned civilian rifles like the AR-15 and AK-47. It also bans the sale and importation of so-called high-capacity magazines \u2014 defined as having a capacity of over 15 rounds.<\/span><\/p>\n Other bills awaiting Spanberger\u2019s assent include <\/span>restrictions on concealed carry permit reciprocity<\/span><\/a> with other states and legislation banning adults aged 18-21 from <\/span>possessing certain firearms<\/span><\/a>. Notably, there\u2019s no grandfather clause, so any such young adults who legally purchased such firearms would become criminals overnight.<\/span><\/p>\n Collectively, these laws are \u201csome of the nation\u2019s most stringent restrictions on guns,\u201d <\/span>as <\/span>the Washington Times<\/span> put it<\/span><\/a>, and are a massive change from Virginia\u2019s status quo. It goes without saying that these laws are unlikely to be effective at addressing crime, namely because the vast majority of gun violence, <\/span>including mass shootings<\/span><\/a>, is <\/span>committed with handguns<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n While Spanberger has not commented on these bills specifically, she openly <\/span>supported similar measures<\/span><\/a> during her campaign and is widely expected to sign them. Assuming she does, the new laws will take effect on July 1, 2026. Predictably, Virginians (including yours truly) <\/span>have reacted<\/span><\/a> with <\/span>a spending spree<\/span><\/a>, since any firearms purchased before then will be \u201cgrandfathered\u201d in, as the proposed legislation doesn\u2019t ban possession. Absent a major surprise, in several months, Virginia\u2019s gun laws will look much more like my home state of Connecticut than they will like the commonwealth I moved to several years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n There is speculation that the assault weapons ban in particular <\/span>may be legally suspect<\/span><\/a>; I\u2019ll leave brighter minds than mine to consider that. I\u2019m concerned with another question: Why are Democrats going through the trouble of doing this? After all, <\/span>nearly 45% of Virginians<\/span><\/a> live in a household with a gun, slightly higher than the 42% of Americans overall <\/span>who do so<\/span><\/a> and much higher than in most of the 10 states that have already passed bans on so-called assault weapons. Polling among Virginians <\/span>has found<\/span><\/a> that the new gun control laws <\/span>are controversial<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Special interest groups<\/span><\/a> are a common answer, and not entirely the wrong one. But while the new laws might seem senseless, they do have a real purpose beyond making liberals feel better. Being a gun owner isn\u2019t just about owning a gun: There is a distinctive set of norms and values that come along with it.<\/span><\/p>\n While it was <\/span>first coined<\/span><\/a> in a pejorative way by the liberal historian Richard Hofstadter, this \u201cgun culture\u201d is very real. It <\/span>revolves around the reasons<\/span><\/a> people buy guns in the first place \u2014 be it target shooting, hunting, self-defense, or a belief in the necessity of an armed citizenry. Like with anything else, guns are often a vector for community <\/span>in real life<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>online<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n While gun owners are not a political monolith, it\u2019s easy to see why they\u2019re disproportionately conservative. Gun ownership isn\u2019t necessarily partisan, but it does necessarily invoke principles such as self-sufficiency and individualism that tend to point people in that direction.<\/span><\/p>\n That is what Virginia Democrats really have a problem with. Gun ownership carries along with it a set of norms and values that are, in their view, icky and low-class. It\u2019s no wonder, then, that <\/span>Pew Research found<\/span><\/a> that 60% of Democrats who don\u2019t currently own a gun could never see themselves having one; among Republicans, that figure was just 38%. And even among those who owned guns, Democrats consistently expressed more negative feelings about them than Republicans.<\/span><\/p>\n While the growth of Northern Virginia and the Richmond suburbs has given the state a blue tint, there are still a lot of conservatives and a lot of gun owners in Virginia. Slamming the door shut on potential future firearm enthusiasts minimizes the chance <\/span>too many more people<\/span><\/a> are introduced to and get passionate about their Second Amendment rights.<\/span><\/p>\n Democrats did back off on some of the more outlandish parts of the bill. Among other things, these included a $500 tax on suppressors<\/a>, a mandatory 5-day waiting period<\/a> after purchasing a firearm, an 11% tax on ammo<\/a>, and a widely publicized<\/a> provision that would have exempted themselves<\/a> from new vehicle storage requirements<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, absent a court ex machina, the Old Dominion is set to shift decisively to the blue state model of gun ownership. For those of us who have already gotten our guns, we\u2019ll still have them. But for those Virginians who might wish to exercise their gun rights after July 1, well, too bad.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Stephan Kapustka is a writer at the American Spectator. Follow him on X @SteveKapustka<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n