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By Chad Adams
The state of Virginia swung from purple to very blue in recent elections, and with that comes one of the more aggressive attacks on the Second Amendment at the state level in some time. After working its way through the state legislature, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently signed new gun control legislation that bans both “assault firearms” and “large-capacity” magazines.
The new statewide restrictions go into effect July 1. The new law declares that “… any person who imports, sells, manufacturers, purchases, or transfers an assault firearm is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.” The law further defines an “assault firearm” as a semi-automatic rifle chambered in any caliber besides .22 rimfire or one that contains a litany of common features, including a collapsing stock, pistol grip, threaded barrel and more. Also banned are magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition.
New legislative battle lines are now being formed. The Second Amendment Foundation, along with the National Rifle Association and the Firearms Policy Coalition, filed a lawsuit (McDonald v. Katz) challenging the new bans.
Fighting Virginia Assault Weapons Ban
“It’s wild that lawmakers who each take an oath to uphold the Constitution insist on passing bills purposefully designed to gut it,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The firearms and magazines banned in this law aren’t bizarre and unusual outliers, they’re among the most commonly owned guns and magazines in the country. They’re owned in the tens of millions by peaceable Americans who use them overwhelmingly lawfully. Virginia has now joined the minority of radical states to ban these constitutionally protected firearms, and in so doing, joined the club of states we’re suing over it.”
As noted in the complaint, “The firearms that Virginia bans as ‘assault firearms’ are, in all respects, ordinary semi-automatic firearms. To the extent they are different from other semi-automatic firearms, their distinguishing features make them safer and easier to use. Regardless of any new category of arms created by state lawmakers, they cannot be banned because they are not dangerous and unusual.”
“Virginia lawmakers lied to their constituents and to themselves when they said these laws weren’t bans,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “A new sales and transfer ban is a ban that’s just one generation removed. On July 1, anyone turning 18 in Virginia will find out that the rights enjoyed by their predecessors don’t apply to them. These bans are an afront to the Constitution and an insult to the intelligence of Virginians who were fed lies and misrepresentations by their elected officials. We’re excited to fast track this case to the Supreme Court.”
“As promised, we are taking Abigail Spanberger to court,” said John Commerford, NRA-ILA Executive Director. “Throughout the legislative session, the NRA and our members fought Richmond’s radical gun control package tooth and nail. We made it clear that this extreme anti-gun proposal, which bans the new purchase of commonly owned firearms and standard capacity magazines in the Commonwealth, is a blatant violation of Second Amendment rights and an affront to landmark Supreme Court cases. Instead of listening to these factual concerns from their constituents, progressive politicians sided with Michael Bloomberg and his gun-grabbing groups. The NRA will not sit idly by while progressive politicians strip the rights of law-abiding citizens, and our world-class legal team is locked, loaded, and ready to shoot down this outrageous gun-control law.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
The post Battleground Virginia–FIGHTING THE ASSAULT WEAPONs BAN appeared first on Field Ethos.
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