More than one hundred tables in the Hitachi Energy Arena in Wythe County were filled recently with firearms and ammo of all shapes and sizes: handguns of a variety of different calibers, AR-15 style weapons and other long guns, rifles used for hunting and sport among them. Gun gear, holsters and other kinds of tactical equipment were for sale. And purveyors of knives were also present. A few people milled about the tables on a slow Sunday afternoon in mid-May at the Showmasters gun show, the self-proclaimed “one stop gun shop.”
The only thing a buyer seeking to purchase a firearm from a private seller could not get that day — and did not need — was a background check from state police.
Since October, Virginia State Police has not conducted background checks for the private sale of firearms at any of the gun shows organized by Annette Elliott, owner of Showmasters, she said. And state police were not present at the show she organized in mid-May — one of more than a dozen planned and held in Virginia in 2026 — almost a full month after a bill aimed at reestablishing universal background checks in the commonwealth was enacted.
The General Assembly passed a bill on April 22 with an emergency enactment clause added by Gov. Abigail Spanberger to increase the legal age to purchase a handgun in Virginia from 18 to 21 years old. That bill was patroned by Del. Garrett McGuire, D-Fairfax County, who was a student on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, when a gunman opened fire and killed 32 people while wounding 17 others.
That bill, HB 1525, aimed to reestablish universal background checks for the sale of all firearms after an injunction by the Lynchburg Circuit Court halted the checks for private sales in October — dubbed the “Lynchburg Loophole.” But one month after the bill was enacted, those checks are not happening.
As of May 21, the Virginia State Police website said that private sale background checks are “no longer available/required” due to the October ruling. Robin Lawson, spokesperson for Virginia State Police, said they are “working diligently with the administration to effectuate the provisions of the new legislation,” when asked about the lack of checks for private firearm sales. Lawson did not respond when asked what that meant.
Garrett said he was frustrated to learn that the checks were not happening, a month after his bill was enacted, but that he knew there would be challenges.
“The emergency clause in HB 1525 wasn’t symbolic; it was a signal that lives are on the line right now. Nearly a month later, private firearm sales are still going unchecked, and that is unacceptable,” Garrett said in a statement. “I am working with the Governor and Attorney General, and we will not stop until background checks for private sales are fully operational so that lives can be saved.”
The origin of the ‘Lynchburg loophole’
In Virginia, firearm sales fall into two distinct categories, and each has been handled differently under state law. Sales conducted through licensed firearms dealers are required to include a mandatory background check. Dealers are also responsible for verifying identification and completing all required reporting.
Private firearm sales occur directly between two unlicensed individuals. Unlike licensed dealers, private sellers are not subject to the same identification or reporting requirements.
Efforts to require background checks for private sales have been fraught with legal challenges in recent years.
The Virginia General Assembly passed a law in 2020 that required background checks for the sale of all firearms in the commonwealth. In order to obtain a background check, the purchaser needed to go through a licensed dealer that used the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That system automatically rejects purchasers under 21 years old — the federal age requirement to purchase a handgun.
The legal age to purchase a handgun in Virginia was 18 years old at the time.
That difference in age requirements between the state and federal government led to a number of legal challenges after the 2020 bill was enacted. To settle those legal challenges, a mechanism was created by the state that required Virginia State Police to attend gun shows to conduct background checks for buyers under the age of 21. State police used a different system, bypassing the NICS, that allowed purchasers between 18 and 20 years old to legally buy handguns through private sales at gun shows.
But in October, a permanent injunction granted by Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Patrick Yeatts in an ongoing case halted all background checks for the private sale of firearms in Virginia, including sales that take place at gun shows.
No background checks for private sales
Virginia State Police had been present at gun shows across the commonwealth for years before the Lynchburg court ruling to perform background checks of attendees seeking to purchase firearms from private sellers, including at Showmasters’ events.
David Arthur, 68, a private gun seller, displayed an array of rifles primarily used for hunting and sport across two tables in the corner of the arena in Wytheville on that Sunday.
Arthur has been selling firearms since he was a teenager, he said, and as a private seller he had been doing his part to facilitate background checks since 2020. When a potential buyer was interested in purchasing a firearm from him, Arthur took the firearm and the potential buyer to the area of the show where Virginia State Police was set up to conduct background checks. Both Arthur and the potential buyer would show the police their government-issued IDs and fill out forms, he said. Sometimes, if the show was busy and there were few state police, the process would take longer than the advertised “instant” background check.
After October, however, there have been “no checks” at gun shows that Arthur has attended in Virginia.
“They don’t even show up,” he said.
McGuire’s bill with Spanberger’s emergency enactment clause passed the General Assembly on party-line votes. The legislation aimed to close the nearly 7-month lapse in background checks in the private sale of firearms, known as the “Lynchburg loophole.” To close that loophole, the legislation increased the legal age to buy handguns and assault firearms in Virginia to 21 years to align with the federal requirement and effectively restore universal background checks in the commonwealth. The bill includes exceptions for students in ROTC or law enforcement training.
The Lynchburg circuit court’s October injunction enjoined, or prohibited, the use of the background check system based on its finding that 18- to 20-year-olds were being discriminated against on an equal protection theory, rather than a Second Amendment basis.
McGuire’s bill sought to solve the equal protection issue by changing the law in Virginia to increase the age to purchase a handgun from 18 to 21 years old. The passage of that law effectively eliminated that equal protection theory and the court’s basis for its injunction.
Because the court’s basis for its injunction no longer exists in Virginia law, Virginia state police should be able to begin private sale background checks once the systems are back in place for it to do so. But, almost a month after the emergency enactment, background checks for private sales have not yet begun.
Libby Wiet, spokesperson for Spanberger, did not directly respond when asked why, a month after the emergency enactment of HB 1525, background checks for the private sale of firearms are not being conducted by state police. Virginia State Police spokespersons did not respond when asked for details of what needed to be done and when they expect the checks will resume.
“Governor Spanberger signed a law to restore universal background checks in Virginia and help law enforcement officers keep our communities safe. These universal background checks are now required under state law, and Virginia State Police is working with the administration to begin implementing the law,” Wiet said.
There were 113 private sales of firearms between October and May at gun shows, according to the Virginia State Police.
Attorney General Jay Jones’ office filed a request with the Lynchburg court on May 4 seeking to dissolve the October injunction.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: background checks save lives,” Jones said in a statement Friday. “That’s why I fought to intervene and appeal this ruling before taking office, and why my office has continued working to lift the injunction. We remain committed to following the legal process and partnering with agencies to protect public safety and ensure our laws are applied clearly and consistently.”
Jones argued, in his request, that the passage of HB 1525 had aligned the legal age to purchase certain firearms in Virginia with the federal standard and had effectively rendered the case moot. The Lynchburg Circuit Court had not yet responded to Jones’ request as of Thursday. The Attorney General’s Office did not respond when asked what its next steps are if the circuit court rejects the request to dissolve the injunction.
“It’s a shame that in 2026 this is even something that needs to be figured out and isn’t already law, universal background checks save lives. There is no argument against that,” Garrett said.
