Yet another Virginia prosecutor announced Friday he would not enforce a ban on modern semiautomatic firearms, bringing the total to ten since the enactment of a law supported by anti-Second Amendment agitators.
Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed SB 749 into law on May 14, which would prohibit the sale and transfer of so-called “assault weapons,” as of July 1. The legislation drew immediate litigation from pro-Second Amendment organizations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), which were seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional.
“[N]ew laws from Richmond primarily relating to (1) the purchase, sale, transfer, possession or transportation of firearms, ammunition or magazines that have been traditionally legal prior to July 1, 2026; and (2) expanded public-carry restrictions threaten the integrity of federal and state principles equally recognized as fundamentally important to the citizens of Clarke County,” County Sheriff Travis M. Sumption and Commonwealth Attorney Matthew E Bass said in the statement posted on Facebook Friday by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.
Spanberger did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about the announcements, but other Democrats have threatened reprisals against officials who have questioned the constitutionality of the legislation.
“I think one of the things we really do need to take seriously is if these constitutional officers are not willing to enforce the law, what type of legislation can we introduce to hold them accountable for not doing their job,” Democratic Virginia Del. Joshua Cole told WTVR, a Richmond-based TV station, when asked about other prosecutors who declared the measure unconstitutional.
Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave welcomed the announcement.
“We are hoping the number of Commonwealth Attorneys refusing to enforce the ban keeps expanding,” Van Cleave told the DCNF, adding that he expected additional local authorities to join those who had already declared they would not enforce the ban.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas observed in a footnote from his dissent in Carhart v. Stenberg that the term “assault weapons” is a politically-motivated euphemism that gun-control advocates use to gain support for banning semi-automatic firearms with features that give them a superficial similarity to firearms capable of fully-automatic operation.
In a recent article, The New York Times admitted that both the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and semiautomatic rifles with cosmetic features or accessories that make them look like fully-automatic AK-47s were popular firearms among civilian buyers. Under the Supreme Court’s rulings in Heller and Bruen, firearms in common use for lawful purposes fall under the Second Amendment’s protection.
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