Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Here’s Why Judge Blocked Blue State’s Gun Ban

[Wikimedia Commons/Public/Ezra Deutsch-Feldman]

A Virginia judge informed officials in the state that a newly passed ban on modern semiautomatic firearms was blocked across the state in a Tuesday letter, citing the potential for a “treacherous patchwork” in the state.

Shortly after Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the ban on so-called “assault weapons,” SB 749, into law on May 14, pro-Second Amendment organizations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Gun Owners of America (GOA), Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed lawsuits seeking to have the ban invalidated on Second Amendment grounds. The letter from Washington County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Campbell extending the injunction to cover non-parties cited issues that could arise should someone transport a modern semiautomatic firearm across county lines.

Nice try, @AGJayJones @SpanbergerForVA. pic.twitter.com/nKMWblrXqn

— NRA (@NRA) July 8, 2026

“If they crossed the line into Grayson County then, arguably, they could be charged… since the coverage of the injunction would not extend therein,” Campbell wrote in the letter. “This court has concerns about the treacherous patchwork of enforcement that this may lead to for the Plaintiffs and law enforcement alike.”

The court also addressed whether it had the authority to issue a statewide injunction, noting the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in CASA v. Trump, in which the high court said that district courts exceeded their authority with “universal injunctions.” In the semi-auto case, the judge granted the injunction citing provisions of Virginia state law.

“Chapter 24 of Tile 8.01 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, gives a broad grant of authority to Circuit Courts to award injunctions… in matters involving statewide application,” Campbell wrote.

Democratic Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“The NRA has secured a statewide injunction blocking Abigail Spanberger’s ban on semi-automatic firearms and standard-capacity magazines,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford said in a statement posted on X. “The Virginia court has made it unmistakably clear: this blatant violation of constitutional rights cannot be enforced by any law enforcement agency in the Commonwealth.”

“This is a historic victory for gun owners and the rule of law. It ensures that law-abiding Virginians will not have their rights stripped away while our challenge proceeds,” Commerford continued. “The NRA and our world-class legal team will continue fighting in court until this unconstitutional measure is permanently removed from the books.”

As of June 25, 17 Commonwealth’s attorneys and 12 county sheriffs declared they wouldn’t enforce either the ban on modern semiautomatic firearms or the “carry ban,” according to the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL).

The Supreme Court granted writs of certiorari in Viramontes v. Cook County, Illinois and Grant v. Higgins, involving bans similar to the one Spanberger signed that were imposed by Cook County, Illinois, (which includes Chicago) and Connecticut on June 30. The high court consolidated the cases for its term starting in October.