California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado—all states where Second Amendment freedoms have unceremoniously died or are withering. You can now add Virginia to that list. That’s right, the state of Virginia—once a firewall for the Second Amendment—is about to become a case study in what happens when gun owners sit out elections. With Democrats now controlling both of the state’s legislative chambers and the governor’s office, the Old Dominion has become ground zero for an aggressive gun-control agenda.

January 1 came and went surprisingly without the kind of sweeping gun control wave we’ve seen in recent years. In fact, the biggest change at the federal level has been a real plus for gunowners. That doesn’t mean anti-gun lawmakers took the year off, particularly at the state level where they can have an even bigger impact on our lives. 2026 could be a tough year for gun owners if they let their political guard down and get complacent. But for now, here’s what changed as the calendar flipped.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, eerily echoes another national tragedy caught on tape more than 50 years earlier when on Nov. 23, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas.