A Virginia judge has hit pause on a new state law prohibiting assault weapons, preventing it from taking effect next week as planned.
The legislation, introduced by Fairfax County state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) and Del. Dan Helmer (D-10), was scheduled to ban the sale and manufacturing of assault-style firearms starting July 1. But yesterday (Thursday), a judge in Lancaster County issued an injunction that puts the law on hold amid a pending lawsuit and directs Virginia State Police to not enforce the ban.
The injunction is not a final order on the assault weapon ban and will be in effect until the end of 2026 or the issuance of a final ruling.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said he will appeal the injunction.
“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,” Jones said. “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.”
Salim, who represents Vienna, Tysons, Merrifield and Oakton in Fairfax County as well as the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, called the outcome “disappointing, but not surprising.”
“Opponents of SB749 have already lost in one court, but they have been court shopping in search of a favorable outcome,” Salim said in a statement to FFXnow. “We wrote this law to be consistent with the Constitution and historical precedents such as the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban and the National Firearms Act of 1934. I am confident higher courts will uphold SB749, and Virginia will finally address the real harm weapons of war cause in our communities.”
Last week, a circuit court judge in Spotsylvania County had rejected a request to block the assault weapons ban from local gun owners and a gun shop. Represented by former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, the plaintiffs had argued that the impending ban violates a provision in Virginia’s Constitution supporting the right to bear arms as part of a “well regulated militia.”
Helmer, an Army veteran whose district includes Fairfax County’s Clifton area, is also confident the new law will be upheld.
“Weapons similar to those that I used serving our country overseas have no place in our schools, in our churches, and on our streets,” Helmer said in a statement to FFXnow. “No Virginia parent should have to worry about whether their child will come home when we put them on a bus; we shouldn’t live in a world where we note the emergency exits when we enter a movie theater.”
A Virginia State Police spokesperson says the agency will review the court order and “act accordingly” once it’s entered.
The Crump v. Katz lawsuit was filed in Lancaster County by the Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Virginia Citizens Defense League, and Virginia Citizens Defense Foundation. The plaintiffs claim the law would violate the Virginia Constitution by banning sales, transfers, purchases and public carry of “commonly owned firearms and standard-capacity magazines.”
The legislation would not criminalize possessing assault-style weapons obtained before the effective date. However, any future import, sale, manufacturing, purchase or transfer of an assault-style gun would lead to a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A person convicted of this offense would face a three-year ban on buying, possessing or transporting a gun.
Under Virginia law, an “assault firearm” is defined as a “semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol which expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine which will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition.” It also applies to guns designed to have a silencer or folding stock.
The ban would provide exemptions for inoperable, manually-operated or antique guns, as well as law enforcement and government duty, but the Virginia General Assembly did not accept an amendment proposed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger that would have exempted certain guns used for hunting.
