The Virginia State Police resumed background checks for the private sale of firearms on Wednesday, effectively immediately, with little fanfare.
The state police website included an update Thursday morning that said, “Private background checks are now available.”
The change came just days after Cardinal News reported on the lack of movement to resume the checks one month after a bill aimed at reinstating universal background checks was enacted by Gov. Abigail Spanberger with an emergency clause.
“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 implementing the law to make Virginians and their families safer,” said Jack Bledsoe, spokesperson for the Governor, in a statement on Thursday.
Background checks for private firearm sales had been halted since October, when a permanent injunction granted by Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Patrick Yeatts in an ongoing case halted all checks for those sales in Virginia. That action had been dubbed the “Lynchburg Loophole.”
Philip Van Cleave, head of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun organization, said in a post on X that he planned to file a “motion for contempt of court,” or a request for a rule to show cause from the court, on Thursday. Van Cleave is a plaintiff in the ongoing case.
“They were given an order. Just because they changed the law doesn’t mean that that stay was dropped. You’ve got separation of powers in America and the General Assembly can’t override the courts,” he said in an interview. “I’ve never seen anything like this happen before, where they openly defy a judge’s order.”
The General Assembly passed a bill, HB 1525, aimed at reestablishing universal background checks for the sale of all firearms during its 2026 session. That bill was signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger with an emergency clause to immediately enact the legislation on April 22. Those checks had not resumed until Wednesday, over a month after the bill was enacted.
“It’s an infringement,” Van Cleave said of universal background checks. “The law doesn’t say ‘right to bear arms after you pass a background check,’ that’s not a part of America’s history and tradition either. We’re against it because it’s not necessary, this is a civil right they don’t do a background check before you vote.”
Virginians are required to register with the State Board of Elections before they vote in an election.
“Mr. Van Cleave’s argument leaves a lot to be desired. Background checks aren’t written into the constitution but neither are dozens of firearms regulations the gun lobby has accepted for decades,” said Del. Garrett McGuire, D-Fairfax County, in a text message on Thursday. “The exercise of constitutional rights has always coexisted with reasonable safeguards. HB 1525 simply closes a loophole that lets dangerous people bypass the system we already have. Mr. Van Cleave owes Virginians an explanation for why he thinks criminals and domestic abusers should be able to buy guns without any check at all.”
Van Cleave argued that criminals are not likely to obtain firearms through legal means, regardless of what laws are in place.
“Why give them more options?” McGuire responded.
To close the Lynchburg Loophole, HB 1525 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. Before that legislation, the legal age to purchase a handgun in Virginia was 18 years old, compared to the federal age of 21 years old. Because of that disparity, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System would automatically reject anyone under 21 years old who was seeking to purchase a handgun.
Van Cleave argued that it is unconstitutional to increase the age to purchase a handgun in Virginia from 18 to 21 years old.
The Lynchburg circuit court had issued its injunction 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.
Attorney General Jay Jones had issued a request in early May to the Lynchburg Court that sought to dissolve the injunction. 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 Office of the Attorney General will continue to represent the Virginia State Police as this case proceeds,” said Rae Pickett, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, in a statement on Thursday.
The Lynchburg Circuit Court has not responded to Jones’ request to dissolve the injunction.
The attorney general’s office issued a response to Van Cleave’s request to the court for a rule to show cause. The Office of Attorney General argued that Virginia State Police cannot be held in contempt because its actions are lawful under the 2026 legislation and because the 2020 legislation, which is the subject of the lawsuit, had been superseded by HB 1525.
