Virginia’s Attorney For Spotsylvania County Attorney Announces Intent To Defy State’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Gun Banhttps://dailycaller.com/2026/05/16/spotsylvania-county-commonwealth-attorney-g-ryan-mehaffey-announces-intent-defy-virginia-unconstitutional-gun-ban/The Commonwealth’s Attorney for Spotsylvania County, Va., said he would not enforce new bans on modern semiautomatic weapons signed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
Pro-Second Amendment organizations sued to have the bans struck down as unconstitutional minutes after Spanberger signed the relevant bills into law Thursday evening. Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey wrote a letter Friday to Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris, citing Supreme Court decisions as the basis of his belief that the law couldn’t be “lawfully enforced.”
“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.
“Moreover, Heller secures the right of Virginians to keep and bear the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15,” Mehaffey continued.
This law is conscious, intentional defiance of USSC rulings. The purpose is to, temporarily, burden, and thereby discourage gun ownership. The lawsuits against it, some of which were filed within minutes of Spanberger signing it, are probably requesting injunctions forbidding enforcing it during the litigation of the lawsuits.
