Gun stores in Virginia are seeing sales surge as residents of the state buy up firearms and ammo trying to beat the effective dates of new gun controls.
The Fauquier Times noted, “Early indicators suggest Virginians are responding to a slate of proposed gun-control legislation with a noticeable spike in firearm background checks — a sign that gun sales are on the rise.”
For example, there were 79,846 background checks in March 2026 compared to only 47,069 checks in March 2025.
Henrico County’s Knight and Pawn owner, Ben Goldberg, said, “Every time the Democratic Party does any sort of gun legislation, gun sales go through the roof.”
Goldberg observed that he is seeing “at least quadruple the volume” of business that he was seeing before the gun control push.
American Rifleman reported that Stateside Tactical co-owner Mitchell Tyler told WDBJ, “I’d say we’re selling eight to ten times as many firearms each day as we were prior to this [legislative] session starting.”
Tyler noted that the effective date of the proposed “assault weapons” ban will be July 1, 2026, if it becomes law. Breitbart News pointed out that the mere possession of an AR-15 will be prohibited after July 1 unless the AR was possessed by the individual before that effective date.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
