Prosecutors in four Virginia counties announced Tuesday they will not enforce a new state law banning the sale and transfer of AR-15-style rifles, days after Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the measure into law.
Commonwealth’s attorneys in Spotsylvania, Smyth, Powhatan, and Pulaski counties each issued statements declaring the law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).
The law, which takes effect July 1, bans the sale and transfer of semi-automatic rifles configured to accept detachable magazines and magazines holding more than 15 rounds. Violations carry penalties of up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Spanberger signed the legislation on May 15.
“After careful review of the legislation and existing Supreme Court precedent, I find the assault weapon ban signed by the Governor on May 15, 2026, unconstitutional, and as a result, unenforceable,” said Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins Jr., as reported by The Washington Times. “My office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the unconstitutional assault weapon ban.”
Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney Justin L. Griffith was equally direct. “I am not going to take law abiding citizens as of June 30th, 2026, and criminalize that same behavior on July 1st, 2026 solely on the basis of this new law,” Griffith said. “My office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the unconstitutional assault weapon ban.”
Powhatan Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Cerullo wrote to county Sheriff Bradford Nunnally that “significant parts of House Bill 217, specifically bans of so called assault firearms, large capacity ammunition feeding devices and the carrying of these items in public, are facially unconstitutional.”
Spanberger’s office pushed back. “Governor Spanberger believes that firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on Virginia streets,” a spokesman told The Washington Times. “The people of Virginia must be able to trust that all the commonwealth’s attorneys will uphold the rule of law and keep Virginians safe.”
Each prosecutor who declined to enforce the law said their offices would continue pursuing violent offenders and those who use firearms in the commission of crimes.
The law faces legal challenges in state and federal court from the National Rifle Association, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Gun Owners of America, and the Second Amendment Foundation. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has signaled potential federal involvement as well.
The resistance echoes a prior wave of Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions that swept roughly 95 percent of Virginia’s nearly 200 localities between 2019 and 2020, the last time Democrats controlled all branches of state government. Virginia Citizens Defense League president Philip Van Cleave has called the current opposition “Second Amendment sanctuary movement 2.0.”
Spanberger, who took office in January, campaigned on expanding gun control measures. Republican lawmakers and gun rights groups argue the law’s scope leaves it vulnerable under the Bruen standard, which requires gun regulations to be grounded in historical tradition dating to the founding era.
Scott County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kyle Kilgore and Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffey made similar statements declining to enforce the ban.
