Are Virginia gun laws something that the rest of the country should emulate? That's what both of the Commonwealth's senators think.
The Virginia Plan was the name of an effort in Philadelphia, led by Virginians, to create a national government with three branches tempered by checks and balances. That was in 1787. In 2026, it’s the name of a proposal from Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Their version of the Virginia Plan is to have federal law mirror Virginia gun laws. That’s for things like prohibiting ghost guns, safe storage requirements and red flag laws.
"Mark and I kind of have this argument — listen, if we can do this in Virginia, where the NRA has had its headquarters for many years, we ought to be able to do it nationally," says Senator Tim Kaine.
The NRA's headquarters is in Fairfax County, and NRA spokesman Justin Davis says the federal government should not emulate what he calls an "extreme, radical gun control agenda."
"This is moving further away from the conversation about what is and what isn't constitutional to what's best for a fundraising email for these far-left groups and what placates the most extreme people in the party," Davis says. "So, you know, we're prepared for that; we're getting ready to sue Abigail Spanberger in court the second she signs her gun control package here."
The governor is currently considering the fate of a proposed assaultweapons ban that's currently on her desk. Her deadline is May 22nd.
