Virginia judge blocks assault weapons ban six days before implementation 

LANCASTER, Va. (CN) —A judge in rural Virginia sided with gun rights activists Thursday, barring state police from enforcing an assault weapons ban set to take effect July 1.

Lancaster County Circuit Judge John Martin issued the preliminary injunction from his bench in favor of Gun Owners of America, the Virginia Citizens Defense League and resident John Crump, finding the commonwealth unlikely to succeed in arguing the impending law doesn’t run afoul of the state’s constitution.

In the hearing, which took a little over two hours, Crump and the organizations argued that the newly passed law conflicts with a provision of the Virginia Constitution enshrining the right to keep and bear arms, added in 1971.

“Article I, Section 13 is the commonwealth’s recognition of a pre-existing right with which Virginians were endowed by their creator, and it operates as a fixed limitation on the power of government to enact legislation affecting firearms,” the plaintiffs said in a motion.

Martin denied the commonwealth’s attempt to separate the state court’s analysis from the analysis the Supreme Court requires of federal courts following its 2022 decision in  N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen.

Martin held that the federal analysis — which requires the government to demonstrate that the challenged gun regulation is rooted in the historical tradition of firearm regulations rather than engaging in interest-balancing or policy-laden analyses — is instructive.

The plaintiffs rebutted the commonwealth’s assertion that the weapons at issue aren’t in common use and are thus not the bearable arms protected by the Second Amendment.

“They are not just common, they are ubiquitous,” attorney David Browne of Spiro & Browne, representing the plaintiffs, told the judge. “The challenged statutes in this case concern some of the most commonly used arms and magazines in the nation."

The commonwealth argued that the guns included in the ban are akin to military weapons that are especially dangerous. Martin asked why the ban doesn’t apply to all military weapons, including M1 Carbines and handguns, which remain legal.

The commonwealth argued the plaintiffs’ theory would essentially give Virginians the right to bear any arms, including grenade launchers.

“There is no absolute right to bear arms,” Deputy Solicitor General Trent Taylor said.

The commonwealth further argued that the ban fits with a historic tradition of state laws banning the possession of sawed-off shotguns and fully automatic weapons. The plaintiffs countered that those bans, enacted in the 20th century, pertained to hunting. The commonwealth criticized the plaintiffs for failing to present evidence to support their claims.

Browne said the commonwealth “bombarded the court with hundreds of pages of gobbledygook."

The judge did rule that the organizations lacked standing, but that under state case law, claims can proceed so long as one of the plaintiffs, in this case Crump, has standing.

The ruling comes six days before the law, which creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for the importation, sale, purchase, manufacturing or transfer of firearms containing certain characteristics and magazines that hold more than 15 rounds, went into effect.

Martin ruled that the characteristics proffered in the bill, which include firearms with folding stocks and threaded barrels, lacked any rational basis.

“Gun violence is the key driver of violent crime in this Commonwealth and nation, and assault weapons are designed intentionally to inflict maximum damage in a matter of seconds,” Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement. “The assault weapons ban passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor will save lives in the Commonwealth and is compliant with the Constitution of Virginia. This ruling is disappointing and puts our communities at risk.”

The Lancaster County case occurred as the National Rifle Association sought identical relief on behalf of firearm retailers and gun hobbyists nearly 400 miles away in Washington County. The Washington County judge did not immediately issue a ruling.

The ruling also comes a week after a judge in Spotsylvania County rejected a militia-based argument against the ban. Spotsylvania County Circuit Judge William Glover ruled a provision pertaining to the right of the militia to keep and bear arms is not self-executing and that the state constitution vests authority over the unorganized militia in the governor.

Lawyers for both parties scrambled to reconcile their arguments with the Supreme Court’s Thursday morning ruling in *Wolford v. Lopez,*in which the majority held that a Hawaii state law requiring gun owners to obtain permission to carry on private property burdens the ability to carry a firearm for self-defense.

The injunction will remain in place until Dec. 31 or until a final order is issued. The commonwealth signaled that it would appeal the injunction. Browne did not immediately return a request for comment.

“VCDL is pleased with the temporary injunction that came out of Lancaster County today against the ‘assault firearm’ ban and carry prohibition,” Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave said in a statement. “We expect the commonwealth to appeal the decision, but we also expect to prevail.”