Waiting Periods, VA Ban on Hold: This Week in FFL News

If you spent this week trying to figure out which guns you can legally sell in Virginia, you are not alone — dealers there are doing the same thing, and the state's attorney general just pressed pause on the whole question. Meanwhile, waiting periods moved to the front of the Second Amendment docket in two states, and ATF's proposal to let guns ship directly to buyers' homes wrapped up its public comment period. Here is what happened and what it means for your shop.

Colorado's Three-Day Wait Heads Toward a Ruling

On Monday, a federal judge in Denver heard oral arguments over Colorado's three-day waiting period between purchase and possession. Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane presided over the long-running challenge brought by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and "Boomstick Babe" Alicia Garcia, represented by Michael McCoy of the Mountain States Legal Foundation.

McCoy's argument is that recent precedent has already answered the question. He pointed to the Supreme Court's decision in Wolford v. Lopez, which struck down Hawaii's "vampire rule" requiring permission to carry on private property — noting Justice Alito's observation that even an hour of separation from a firearm was an unconstitutional burden. He also cited U.S. v. Hemani, this year's high-court decision on Second Amendment rights, and Ortega v. Grisham, the Tenth Circuit decision that struck down New Mexico's seven-day waiting period. "The critical questions in this case have been answered by Wolford and Ortega," McCoy told the court.

Colorado pushed back. State attorney Joseph Michaels argued the state's law simply tracks the federal background check timeline: "If a three-day background check is constitutional, how can a three-day waiting period not be?"

Why it matters to dealers: Colorado's law has been in effect since Judge Kane denied a preliminary injunction in the case's early stages. If Kane rules for the plaintiffs, dealers would no longer need to hold transferred firearms for the waiting period — a real operational change. A ruling could come at any time.

Maine's 72-Hour Wait Reaches the Supreme Court

The same week, the Supreme Court received its own waiting-period case. Gun-rights advocates filed a petition in Beckwith v. Frey asking the justices to strike down Maine's three-day waiting period — a law that applies even to buyers who instantly pass a background check. The lead petitioner is a stalking victim who passed her check, paid for a firearm, and was sent home unarmed for three days.

The case has swung between courts: a lower court struck the law down, then the First Circuit revived it in April, calling the delay "modest." The petition asks the justices to decide whether a waiting period that applies after a clean background check violates the Second Amendment.

Why it matters: If the Court grants review, waiting periods nationwide — including Colorado's — could be on the table in the same term. That is a compliance question every dealer should be tracking.

Virginia: Ban Stays on Ice While SCOTUS Decides

Virginia's attorney general announced Friday that the legal challenge to the state's assault weapons ban and high-capacity magazine restrictions has been stayed while the Supreme Court considers broader challenges to assault weapons restrictions. The stay keeps in place an injunction that has blocked enforcement of the law since a Lancaster County judge paused it days before it was set to take effect in July; a Washington County judge later clarified the injunction applies statewide.

For retailers, the result is whiplash. TJ Smith, manager of Point Blank Gun Shop, told WSET the store has put AR-style rifles and high-capacity handguns back on the shelves: "They're back on the wall now." He said customers call every day asking what is legal.

Former U.S. Attorney John Fishwick said enforcement will remain paused until the courts give a final answer, and predicted the law will ultimately be found unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in an assault weapons case this fall, with a decision likely at the end of the term in June.

Why it matters: Virginia dealers are operating in a legal gray zone — selling guns that could become restricted again if the injunction is lifted. Keep your records clean and watch the docket. If the stay holds, current law stays on pause; if it lifts, inventory decisions will change fast.

ATF's Direct-to-Home Shipping Rule: Comments Closed

ATF's proposed rule to allow firearms to be shipped directly to buyers' homes — formally "Revising Non-Over-the-Counter Firearms Transaction Requirements" (Docket ATF-2026-0266) — completed its public comment period on August 6. Under the proposal, an FFL could verify a remote buyer's identity over video, run the NICS check, and ship the firearm directly to the buyer's home without the buyer ever setting foot in the store.

ATF predicts half of all gun buyers would order guns for home delivery; industry analysts say the real number could be higher. The rule would effectively restore intrastate mail-order firearms for the first time in decades — and Reuters reported in July that Donald Trump Jr.'s "Amazon of guns" marketplace could be among the biggest beneficiaries.

Why it matters: For dealers, this cuts both ways. Online-savvy FFLs could expand their customer base beyond their local drive radius. But it also threatens the traditional walk-in transfer model — the same model that generates most shops' foot traffic and ancillary sales. This is a structural story, not a headline: the final rule's requirements on remote identity proofing, NICS, and recordkeeping will define the economics.

NFA Update: DOJ Declines to Appeal

A follow-up from last week's big NFA ruling: the Justice Department has decided not to appeal Judge James Wesley Hendrix's decision in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, allowing the permanent injunction to stand. For covered individuals — Silencer Shop customers and members of the plaintiff organizations — suppressor and short-barreled firearm purchases no longer require federal registration, fingerprints, or photos. The ruling is not nationwide, and state law still applies, so maintain existing NFA compliance for everyone outside the covered classes.

Industry Watch

Two retail-tech stories worth noting. Guns.com unveiled a new ecommerce technology platform built for online gun sales, with a demo at the NBS show in late August. And Celerant and Slingit announced a partnership aimed at streamlining used firearm sales for dealers — a segment where compliance tracking has historically been manual.

Bottom line: the courts are resolving the biggest questions in this industry — waiting periods, assault weapons bans, the NFA — and they are resolving them fast. The safest play for dealers remains the same: comply with the law as it stands today, document everything, and do not change procedures on a headline. We will keep tracking the dockets.

— Fred Thompson, [email protected]