Anytime gun owners hear the words “universal background checks,” there’s one certain thing: They won’t be “universal” since criminals won’t undergo such checks to get their guns. That’s why every pro-gun group in the nation is opposed to legislation dictating such checks.
‘Universal’ Background Checks Under Fire
Fortunately for Virginia gun owners, a judge has declared that the state’s “universal” background check law unconstitutional. On October 30, the Circuit Court for the City of Lynchburg considered the law. It ruled in the case Wilson, et al. v. Colonel Matthew D. Hanley that it violated the protections afforded by the Second Amendment.
What The Court Said
In declaring the law unconstitutional, the court noted that it was particularly discriminatory to law-abiding adults aged 18, 19 and 20 years old.
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“Having considered the briefs and arguments of the parties, and for the reasons set forth in the court’s letter opinions dated December 17, 2024, and October 16, 2025, it is thereby ordered that the Court declares that the Act (Va. Code § 18.2-308.2:5) is unconstitutional as applied to adults 18 to 20 years of age, and strikes the Act in its entirety for the reasons stated in its October 16, 2025, letter opinion,” Judge F. Patrick Yeatts wrote in the ruling.
The ruling also addressed continued enforcement of the law in no uncertain terms.
“The Virginia Department of State Police, and all law enforcement divisions, agencies, and officers within the Commonwealth, to include their successors or replacements in office, are hereby permanently enjoined and prohibited from administering, enforcing, or otherwise imposing upon any person the requirements of, the Act,” the judge wrote.
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“All orders granting temporary injunctive relief in this matter are hereby dissolved, and replaced with the permanent injunctive relief set forth in the preceding paragraph.”
What Plaintiffs Said
In a news release announcing the ruling, Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), expressed gratitude for the court’s decision.
“This decision vindicates the rights of all Virginians to engage in lawful private firearm transfers without unconstitutional barriers,” Pratt said. “The Act’s enforcement mechanism was fatally flawed from the start—criminalizing everyday citizens while ignoring basic constitutional principles. We’re grateful the court recognized that patchwork fixes can’t save a broken law.”
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Speaking for his organization, John Velleco, executive vice president of Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), said the ruling was an important one for Virginia gun owners.
“We are thrilled the judge struck down Virginia’s universal background check law because it was unconstitutionally blocking young adults from exercising their Second Amendment rights,” Velleco said. “This ruling upholds the true meaning of the Constitution by ensuring all law-abiding citizens can acquire firearms without arbitrary government barriers.”
