Virginia: When Laws Apply to Everyone Except the People Who Passed Them

During the 2026 Virginia legislative session, Democrat lawmakers advanced legislation regulating how firearms may be stored in unattended vehicles. Supporters framed the policy as a "public safety" measure intended to prevent theft and unauthorized access to firearms.

But buried within the legislation is a provision that raises a serious question about fairness.

A conference substitute to HB110 includes language stating that the unattended vehicle storage provisions do not apply to members of the General Assembly when their vehicles are parked in a parking structure reserved for them.

In other words... lawmakers wrote a rule for the public that they specifically exempted themselves from following.

That alone should raise eyebrows, but the broader legislative context makes the contradiction even more disturbing.

The Senate’s Vehicle Storage Bill

During the same session, lawmakers also advanced Senate Bill 496, which created a new criminal penalty tied to firearm storage in vehicles.

The bill adds a section to the Virginia Code requiring that any handgun left in an unattended vehicle must be stored out of plain view in a locked hard sided container.

Failing to meet that requirement can result in a Class 4 misdemeanor.

Under Virginia law, a Class 4 misdemeanor, defined in §18.2-11 of the Code of Virginia, is punishable by a fine of up to $250 and carries no jail time. While it is the lowest level misdemeanor in Virginia, it is still a criminal charge.

A conviction for a Class 4 misdemeanor does not automatically prohibit a person from possessing firearms under Virginia or federal law. Firearm prohibitions generally apply to felony convictions or certain specific misdemeanor offenses such as domestic violence.

However, the charge still places a person within the criminal justice system. In many cases firearms involved in an investigation may be seized as evidence and their return can depend on court procedures and the outcome of the case.

The larger issue is not simply the penalty itself. The legislation creates a new criminal offense where one previously did not exist, placing otherwise law abiding gun owners at risk of prosecution over how a firearm is stored in their own vehicle.

Supporters argue these requirements are necessary because firearms stolen from vehicles sometimes end up used in crime. Critics argue the law risks criminalizing responsible gun owners who themselves become victims of theft.

The Double Standard

This is where the contradiction becomes clear.

One bill creates a criminal penalty for how ordinary Virginians, like myself, store firearms in their vehicles.

Another provision quietly ensures that members of the General Assembly are exempt from those same requirements while parked in their own government garage.

The exemption specifically applies to a parking structure reserved for legislators on or near Capitol Square in Richmond. This is the same Capitol complex where lawmakers regularly debate firearm policy and where citizens are expected to follow the laws being written inside those buildings.

If the rule is truly about safety, then the safety concern should apply everywhere including the legislative parking garage. Instead, the law sends a different message. The people writing the rules believe those rules should apply to everyone except themselves.

Laws Should Apply Equally

Regardless of where someone stands on firearm policy, there should be broad agreement on one basic principle: Laws should apply equally to the people who write them and the people who live under them.

When lawmakers create exemptions for themselves while imposing criminal penalties on the public, it undermines confidence in the legitimacy of the law itself. Public trust in government depends on the belief that the rules are fair and consistently applied. Special carve outs for those in power send the opposite signal.

What Virginians Can Do Now

Although the General Assembly has adjourned sine die (March 14, 2026), the legislative process is not yet over.

Bills passed by the legislature are now on the Governor’s desk. The Governor has three options: She can sign the bill into law, veto the bill, or recommend amendments and return the bill to the General Assembly for reconsideration.

This stage of the process is often referred to as the "Governor’s Action Window" and it is one of the final opportunities for citizens to make their voices heard.

Virginians who care about these policies can still contact the Governor’s office and respectfully share their views on the legislation.

Civic engagement does not end when the legislature adjourns. In many ways this is the moment when public input matters most. It takes five minutes.

As an Instructor, 2A Advocate, and especially as a Virginian...

I never suggest leaving a firearm in an unattended vehicle, but if that premise is dangerous enough to justify creating a new criminal offense for ordinary Virginians, then it should be dangerous enough to apply to the people who wrote the law. Simply put!

If the rule is necessary for public safety, it should apply to everyone.

If the rule only applies to the public but not to the politicians who passed it, then it raises a serious question about what the law was really meant to accomplish.

Public safety laws should never come with a legislative exemption... And in a representative government, the elected people writing the laws should be willing to live under them too.

Rules for thee but not for me is exactly what a tyrant would say.

Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Join the Virginia Citizens Defense League to help fight these tyrants!!