Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed a firearm ban for all Virginia public colleges and universities Tuesday at an event hosted by the Office of the Governor in the Dome Room of the Rotunda. The legislation was first introduced in the wake of the November 2022 shooting at the University, and as part of the ceremony, Spanberger, University President Scott Beardsley and local legislators who introduced the bill gave brief remarks commemorating the tragedy as they spoke on the importance of the legislation.
On Nov. 13, 2022, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. shot and killed three fellow students — Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry — and wounded two more on a bus that had returned to Grounds from a field trip in Washington, D.C. The University remained in lockdown for 12 hours while Jones was at large. On Nov. 21, 2025, Jones was given the maximum penalty of five life sentences, plus an additional 23 years for his actions. The University has since expanded its emergency alert systems, security infrastructure and mental health support on Grounds in response to the tragedy.
The two identical bills Spanberger signed Tuesday — Senate Bill 272, introduced by Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-11) and House Bill 626, introduced by Del. Katrina Callsen (D-54) — amended a section of the Code of Virginia which previously exempted colleges and universities from firearm bans in public buildings. Although the University currently has its own regulations prohibiting firearms on Grounds — alongside similar restrictions at other public colleges across the Commonwealth — possession of firearms and explosive materials on college campuses will be a Class 1 misdemeanor under state law when the bills go into effect July 1. According to the Office of the Governor, only law enforcement, ROTC cadets and military personnel will be lawfully permitted to continue carrying firearms in public institutions of higher education.
Deeds and former Del. Sally Hudson (D-57) first proposed the University-backed legislation in 2023, shortly after the November 2022 shooting. The bill failed to pass the General Assembly that year, and former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed it in 2024. Callsen and Deeds proposed a modified version of the bill in 2025 which Youngkin also vetoed.
This regular legislative session, SB272 and HB626 passed both chambers in the General Assembly, and Spanberger officially approved them April 13 — her deadline to consider legislation. The Office of the Governor chose to host a symbolic signing ceremony for the bills Tuesday at the Rotunda to commemorate the events of November 2022.
“The loss of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry is a loss that we felt all across the Commonwealth,” Spanberger said. “Community leaders, legislative leaders [and] University leaders championed a change … common sense [change that is] responsive to the needs … of law enforcement … The General Assembly has passed this legislation time and time again, and I am pleased that we are finally at a place where we are ready to say ‘yes’ [to] this bill.”
Beardsley praised the bravery of the two surviving students — Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan — and thanked former University President Jim Ryan for leading the University community through the tragedy with “tremendous compassion.”
“The University remains committed to honoring Devin, Lavel and D’Sean and all who carry the weight of this tragedy,” Beardsley said. “Today, we take a meaningful step forward in that commitment to keep university campuses across the Commonwealth safe.”
Beardsley also noted the contributions of Happy Perry, D’Sean Perry’s mother, and Tim Longo, associate vice president for safety and security and chief of police — two longtime proponents of the legislation. According to U.Va. Today, Longo lobbied in support of the legislation to members of the General Assembly for many years.
In her remarks, Spanberger noted that firearms are currently banned at colleges across the Commonwealth through school-specific regulations. However, speakers referred to this system of rules as a “loophole,” saying it inhibits enforcement by the state. Deeds’ and Callsen’s legislation — establishing the carrying of firearms as a criminal act for most individuals — aims to explicitly close this loophole.
“Until today, we have not given our colleges and our police chiefs [the ability] to effectively enforce [gun bans at colleges],” Callsen said. “That changes today … We [sign these bills] in memory of those that we lost to preventable gun violence [and in] the service of every student at U.Va., at every college campus across Virginia, that deserves to walk into a classroom, … a dorm …[or] a bus and know that they are going to walk out.”
Following the brief remarks, Spanberger ceremonially signed both pieces of legislation while flanked by Beardsley, Longo, Callsen, Deeds and other legislators, University leaders and guests. After the signing ceremony at the University, Spanberger’s office held another ceremony in Charlottesville at the Southern Environmental Law Center to celebrate the passage of all six pieces of environmental legislation in her 17-bill affordability agenda.
SB272 and HB626 are among over two dozen pieces of legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2026 aimed at curbing gun violence in the Commonwealth.
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