(SB848)

GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 848, relating to age requirements for purchasing or transferring certain firearms.

My position on this legislation from last year is unchanged. This legislation prohibits any individual under the age of twenty-one from purchasing a handgun or assault firearm, two broad categories of commonly used firearms.

Of particular importance is the basic principle that the constitutionally protected right to possess a firearm is meaningless absent the right to purchase or otherwise acquire the firearm, a necessary corollary to the realization of rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

In 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that a federal law prohibiting the sale of firearms to adults under the age of twenty-one would be found unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's ruling in Bruen. The Court stated, “[i]f the Court were to exclude 18-to-20-year-olds from the Second Amendment's protection, it would impose limitations on the Second Amendment that do not exist with other constitutional guarantee.”

Accordingly, I veto this bill.