Virginia Prosecutors Refuse to Enforce Assault Weapons Ban
Virginia prosecutors across multiple counties are refusing to enforce the state's new assault weapons ban, calling it unconstitutional and vowing not to criminalize previously legal gun ownership.
According to Breitbart News, the list of commonwealth attorneys pledging non-enforcement continues to expand as the legislation faces mounting constitutional challenges from local law enforcement officials across Virginia.
Ryan Mehaffey, a U.S. Marine veteran serving as commonwealth attorney for Spotsylvania County, has formally notified his county sheriff that he considers the ban unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable. Mehaffey sent an official letter outlining his legal position on the measure, which targets firearms commonly owned by millions of law-abiding Americans.
In his correspondence, Mehaffey explained his constitutional reasoning, stating that the founders carefully preserved the people’s ultimate right to defend themselves and their community. He emphasized that the central constitutional question revolves around whether the targeted firearms have a reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a regulated militia.
Mehaffey is not alone in his stance. Prosecutors from Pulaski County and Powhatan County have also announced they will not enforce the ban, according to reports.
Justin Griffith, Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney, issued his own letter clarifying that enforcement of criminal laws falls within the discretion of each locality’s Commonwealth’s Attorney. Griffith made his position clear with straightforward language about the absurdity of criminalizing previously legal behavior.
Griffith wrote that he refuses to take citizens who are law-abiding as of June 30, 2026, and criminalize that same behavior on July 1, 2026, solely based on this new law.
The coordinated resistance from prosecutors represents a significant obstacle to implementation of Spanberger’s gun control agenda. These local officials, who hold prosecutorial discretion in their jurisdictions, are effectively nullifying the ban through refusal to bring charges against citizens who possess the affected firearms.
The rebellion among Virginia prosecutors underscores the deep divisions over Second Amendment rights and reflects broader national tensions between state-level gun control efforts and constitutional protections for firearms ownership.
With information from Breitbart News
