Virginia’s Democratic Delegate Dan Helmer, who authored the Commonwealth’s ban on modern sporting rifles and standard-capacity magazines, is regretting his invitation to ask him anything at a recent Reddit townhall.
Virginians took him up on his offer. And, boy, did they have questions.
Delegate Helmer quixotically offered in his invitation to “ask me anything” with an explanation of his ill-fated gun grab, explaining his military service and four terms in elected office in Virginia. He explained, “That’s why I passed the long-awaited bill to ban assault weapons, protecting our communities and our loved ones,” adding, “I believe government should work for the people.”
Turns out, the people of Virginia are thinking he’s working for special interests and not for them.
The People Have Spoken
“The majority of people don’t want your version of gun control. Flat out banning types of commonly used firearms is way too overboard,” wrote Far-Lion-4439 in a post, adding, “Dan, with all due respect, why can’t we meet in the middle: Can we please focus more on keeping these firearms, you’re worried about, out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unwell and not just blankety [sic] banning them or the carry of them? We’re for common sense gun control but we aren’t for your version of ‘common sense’. Please stop trying to disarm law abiding gun owners. You’ll never have our vote with this extremist take. A lot of people from both political spectrums agree. Love everything else you’re doing. Stop trying to take away our freedom.”
That was among the more polite comments. That’s because Delegate Helmer sponsored Virginia’s HB 217, the House of Delegates bill that banned the sale of the most-popular selling centerfire rifle in America. NSSF estimates there are over 32 million in circulation. A recent study by Georgetown University’s William English estimates that figure might be much, much higher, at 40 million in the hands of law-abiding Americans.
Delegate Helmer’s bill, along with a Senate companion bill, were signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. That was met with immediate court challenges, including one funded by NSSF. Virginia’s law banning the sale of MSRs is now on hold, enjoined from being enforced by the state until the U.S. Supreme Court renders a decision in Viramontes v. Cook County, a challenge to similar state bans on MSRs. That decision is expected by June 2027. Virginia’s courts said nothing happens in the Commonwealth until that decision is issued. For all of Delegate Helmer’s gun ban bluster, he got nothing.
Gun Control $$$ vs. Right to Buy
So, Delegate Helmer’s vision of a disarmed Virginia ran into a legal buzzsaw, and worse, it stoked the ire of Virginians left wondering who really represents them in the Assembly.
“How much Bloomberg money did it take for you to agree to ignore the Virginia constitution?,” asked SunkEmuFlock.
That answer is $42,097 from antigun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety gun control group. That’s just part of the $2.5 million he poured into Virginia in 2020, the year Delegate Helmer won his seat in the Assembly.
Virginia’s ban on selling MSRs and standard-capacity magazines, in the meantime, is shelved. That didn’t sideline Virginians, though. In the run up to the law’s effective date of July 1, NSSF-Adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figures for June closed out with a 241 percent increase in background checks, year-over-year. There were 123,699 background checks completed that month. That’s 87,482 more than June 2025, when 36,217 background checks for the sale of a firearm were completed. That’s not all. There were 468,778 background checks completed in the first six months in Virginia for a gun sale this year. That’s 224,178 more than were conducted in the state during the same six months in 2025. That’s a 91 percent increase, year-over-year.
The Gun Control Show Goes On
That doesn’t mean Delegate Helmer isn’t trying to squeeze all the gun control sentiment from his failed law that he can. He co-opted the momentum into a failed bid at partisan gerrymandering Virginia and carving out a congressional district that would have him sitting in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Delegate Helmer launched his third (you read that correctly) bid for a U.S. House seat after he steered his party’s carving up of the electorate to favor gun control Democrats in Virginia that would have tipped the scales from a current 6-5 Republican congressional split to a Democrat 10-1 delegation. Delegate Helmer ultimately abandoned his Washington, D.C., dreams when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of a state court ruling that blocked the redrawn congressional district maps. Delegate Helmer ultimately abandoned his Washington, D.C., dreams when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of a state court ruling that blocked the redrawn congressional district maps.
Delegate Helmer has heard from the people he represents in Richmond. The problem is that he’s not listening to what they’re saying.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
To hear or not to hear!
In other words: I hear you butt don’t care for what you say!