HB 871 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Firearms; storage in residence where minor or person prohibited from possessing is present, penalty.

Summary
Storage of firearms in a residence where a minor or person prohibited from possessing a firearm is present; penalty. Provides that any person who possesses a firearm in a residence where such person knows that a minor or a person who is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm is present shall store such firearm and the ammunition for such firearm in a locked container, compartment, or cabinet that is inaccessible to such minor or prohibited person. Under the bill, any person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. The bill also requires any dealer, as that term is defined in current law, to post a written notice informing the public of the penalty imposed for failure to comply with the bill's provisions. This bill is identical to SB 348.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Vetoed
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Vetoed Apr 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Courts of Justice Substitute Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 12, 2026
MINOR
The bill has been finalized and approved as an enrolled act, moving it from a Senate substitute draft to official law. The substantive policy content regarding firearm storage requirements remains unchanged, but the text now includes the official act title and approval status required for implementation.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; the text has only been converted from a draft substitute to an enrolled act.
TECHNICAL

The document header changed from 'Senate Substitute' to 'Enrolled', indicating the bill has passed all legislative stages and is now official law.

The bill number format was updated to include the official act identifier '[H 871]' and added the 'Approved' status line.

Section references within the definitions and exemptions were updated to include a space after the section symbol (e.g., § 18.2-308.2:2) for consistency with the enrolled act format.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 5, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 26, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
34
Key actions
11
Committee
8
Apr 11, 2026
Vetoed
Governor's recommendation received by House
executive
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB871ER)
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 5-N)
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (60-Y 37-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Public Safety (14-Y 7-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 4-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Subcommittee failed to recommend reporting (3-Y 3-N)
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
Assigned HMPPS sub: Firearms
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Public Safety
lower
0 primary · 13 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.