Gun safety advocates at a Moms Demand Actions rally in Richmond on January 15, 2025. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
With the clock ticking, Attorney General-elect Jay Jones filed a petition this week asking the Virginia Court of Appeals to extend the state's deadline to appeal a recent ruling striking down the state's background check law on private firearms sales.
The request, if granted, could give Virginia more time to mount a legal defense and potentially restore the law.
Under state law, the Commonwealth had until Dec. 1 to file a notice of appeal after Wilson v Hanley decision. Because outgoing Attorney General Jason Miyares did not file an appeal, the right to appeal the decision would have expired, potentially ending the background check requirement for private sales.
Democratic Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones speaks at a campaign rally in Norfolk on November 1, 2025. (Photo by Charlotte Renee Woods/Virginia Mercury)
Jones' proposal asks to extend the deadline to Jan. 30, 2026.
“Virginians have demanded an attorney general who will protect their safety, and that is exactly what I am doing,” Jones said in a statement. “Background checks save lives and are essential to keeping guns out of dangerous hands. This proposal protects Virginia's ability to appeal this decision, defend our laws, and protect our communities from gun violence.”
In October, the Lynchburg County Circuit Court struck down a universal background check law, ruling that it violated both state and federal laws, especially as it applies to adults ages 18 to 20.
The law, passed by Democrats in 2020 as part of a sweeping gun safety package that took effect July 1 of that year, applied to nearly all firearm shipments.
Under federal law, licensed dealers cannot sell handguns to buyers under 21; however, state law allows those same 18-20 year olds to legally own a firearm. By requiring all private transfers to go through licensed dealers and the federal background check system (NICS), the law effectively denied These adults have every legal way to purchase a gun, attorneys say.
In his decision, Judge F. Patrick Yates declined to consider the constitutionality of background checks generally.
Instead, he found that the structure of the law was so flawed that the entire law had to be repealed. He noted that the Commonwealth could try to craft a revised law that treats all age groups equally – an approach taken in other states such as Nevada, which requires careful calibration of the minimum age to avoid similar legal pitfalls.
Supporters of the 2020 law — part of a broader post-2019 gun control campaign — argued that universal background checks were a reasonable way to close the “private sales loophole.” Now that the law has gone into effect statewide, attention has turned to whether the Legislature will I'll try rewrite it.
Pushback from gun rights advocates
But not everyone welcomes Jones' intervention.
Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave dismissed the lawsuit as improper.
“Hopefully the request will be denied as Jones does not have authority until mid-January after he is sworn in. The current attorney general is the one who makes the difference,” Van Cleave said in an email.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, attends a Lobby Day rally at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
He added: “It's interesting that Jones, who fantasized about killing someone and wished death on that person's children, is now suddenly concerned with saving lives” – link to revelation published in advance After the Nov. 4 election, Jones sent aggressive text messages to a Republican lawmaker in 2022 ruminating about the deaths of then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children.
Van Cleave also questioned the premise of universal background checks.
“I have not seen any statistics indicating that universal background checks have saved anyone's life. The vast majority of criminals do not undergo background checks,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ruz Dadabhoy, president of Rally Virginia—a group that calls itself “the home of the modern Republican woman”— reacted sharply on X, formerly Twitter. Dadabhoy accused Jones of orchestrating “an attack on the Second Amendment before he even took office.”
Referring to the same text messaging scandal, she wrote: “Jay Jones himself shouldn't even be allowed to own a gun because he clearly has deranged, violent fantasies.”
She added that the move comes as Democrats are trying to hold gun sellers accountable for crimes committed with guns they sell, even if those sales comply with state laws. “Virginia Democrats strongly support your right to 'keep and bear arms,'” she said.
Virginia is at a crossroads, like other states
The legal battle unfolding in Virginia reflects a broader trend.
As courts scrutinize the fine print and statutory conflicts, universal background check laws in some states may be vulnerable, especially where federal age restrictions conflict with state-level firearms rights.
Experts say Jones' decision and appeal – if successful – could serve what's the plan for other states seeking to restore or defend similar laws in post-New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen era. That 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned New York's restrictive concealed carry permit system and ruled that modern gun laws must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation.
For now, Virginia's background check law remains in limbo.
If the Appeals Court grants the extension, the state will have until Jan. 30 to decide whether to press its case — critics and advocates alike are bracing for the next round of what could be a defining legislative battle over gun policy and constitutional rights.
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