Virginia Democrats’ ‘Assault Firearm’ Ban Targets 9mm Pistols with Threaded Barrels

The “assault firearm” ban passed by Virginia House Democrats targets semiautomatic centerfire pistols — like the 9mm or 45 ACP — if said pistols take a detachable magazine and have a threaded barrel.

The ban is contained in House Bill 2 (HB 2).

Breitbart News reported that HB 2 prohibits semiautomatic centerfire rifles that use a detachable magazine and have threaded barrels. However, in lieu of a threaded barrel, HB 2 makes clear that a semiautomatic centerfire rifle falls into the prohibited category if it has a vertical foregrip, a “sound suppressor,” or a “muzzle brake,” or “muzzle compensator,” or a “folding, telescoping, or collapsible [rear] stock,” among other features.

The text of HB 2 also bans semiautomatic centerfire pistols, if said pistols use a detachable magazine and have a threaded barrel, which would allow the use of a “sound suppressor” or a “flash suppressor.”

Semiautomatic centerfire pistols are wildly popular among concealed carriers and target shooters. Some of the most popular semiautomatic centerfire pistols include the 9mm, 45 ACP, and 10mm, and a pistol chambered in any of those three rounds could be banned in Virginia over a threaded barrel if Democrats get their way.

It should also be noted the Virginia Democrats’ “assault firearm” ban prohibits semiautomatic shotguns if the shotguns have “a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the shotgun … the ability to accept a detachable magazine … [or] a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds.”

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, a Turning Point USA Ambassador, and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. 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. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.