Gun-rights advocates wasted little time celebrating the decisions.
“The NRA’s world-class legal team delivered a clear, powerful argument demonstrating that Abigail Spanberger’s gun ban is a blatant constitutional infringement on the rights of law-abiding Virginians,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford said in a statement released by the gun-rights group.
The legal victories come as another part of Spanberger’s firearms agenda faces delays of its own. A separate measure restricting the public carrying of certain firearms was originally slated to move forward more quickly, but the governor ultimately sought a one-year delay. The Virginia General Assembly approved that request Monday as part of a broader budget package.
The setbacks underscore the difficult legal terrain facing states attempting to enact broad firearm restrictions in the wake of recent Supreme Court decisions that strengthened Second Amendment protections.
At the center of the dispute is Senate Bill 749, legislation critics describe as an “assault weapons” ban. The law targets a wide range of modern semiautomatic firearms, including popular rifles owned by millions of Americans. The measure also places restrictions on magazine capacity, prohibiting magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds.
Gun-rights organizations immediately launched legal challenges after Spanberger signed the legislation into law on May 14. Those lawsuits argue that the restrictions violate constitutional protections recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Resistance has not been limited to the courtroom.
According to the Virginia Citizens Defense League, numerous local officials across the Commonwealth have publicly stated they will not enforce either the semiautomatic firearm ban or the public carry restrictions. As of last week, 17 Commonwealth’s Attorneys and 12 county sheriffs had reportedly taken that position.
One of the most forceful criticisms came from Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey.
“The Assault Weapons Ban (SB 749/HB 217) and the Public Carry Ban (SB 727/HB 1524) are undoubtedly inconsistent with the historical tradition of Virginia, as articulated by Miller [v. United States], and are thus unconstitutional under Bruen,” Mehaffey wrote in a May 15 letter to Sheriff Roger L. Harris.
He went even further by citing landmark Supreme Court precedent protecting firearm ownership.
“Moreover, Heller secures the right of Virginians to keep and bear the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15,” Mehaffey continued.
The timing of Virginia’s legal battle is especially significant because the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to revisit the broader issue of firearm bans nationwide.
Earlier this week, the Court announced it would hear two major cases challenging restrictions on semiautomatic firearms: Viramontes v. Cook County, Illinois and Grant v. Higgins. Those cases could have sweeping implications for states that have adopted similar bans and may provide additional clarity regarding the constitutional limits of firearm regulation.
Supporters of the challenges argue that commonly owned firearms fall squarely within protections recognized by the Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Those rulings emphasized that weapons commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes are protected by the Second Amendment.
Industry data appears to bolster that argument. According to estimates from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, more than 32 million modern sporting rifles are currently owned throughout the United States.
For now, Virginia’s gun-control agenda remains tangled in litigation, with enforcement of major provisions paused while courts weigh their constitutionality. The legal fight is far from over, but the governor’s effort to dramatically reshape firearm laws in the Commonwealth has already encountered substantial resistance from judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, and gun owners across the state.
What was intended to be a landmark gun-control achievement is rapidly becoming one of the most closely watched Second Amendment battles in the country.
