Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said the state will appeal after a judge blocked enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban just days before it was set to take effect.
, Jones called the ruling “disappointing” and said the state will “urgently file a motion to stay this ruling and appeal this temporary injunction.”
and would have barred the manufacture, sale and transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms and large-capacity magazines.
The measure did not require current lawful owners of covered firearms to relinquish them. It also exempted manually operated firearms, including bolt-, pump-, lever- and slide-action models, as well as antique and permanently inoperable firearms.
Lancaster County Circuit Judge John Martin granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Gun Owners of America, the Virginia Citizens Defense League and a Virginia resident, finding the commonwealth was unlikely to succeed in its argument that the law does not violate the state constitution.
Martin rejected the commonwealth’s effort to distinguish the state court’s analysis from the framework the U.S. Supreme Court requires federal courts to apply.
The commonwealth argued the firearms covered by the ban are comparable to especially dangerous military weapons. Martin questioned why, if that were the case, the ban does not extend to all military-style firearms, which remain legal.
Supporters of the law said it would reduce gun violence in Virginia by removing weapons of war from the streets. Opponents argued the measure would punish lawful gun owners rather than criminals.
The preliminary injunction remains in effect until Dec. 31, or until a permanent ruling is reached.
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