The National Rifle Association and a host of other pro-gun groups sued soon after Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed legislation that bans the sale of assault firearms and high-capacity magazines.
The law prohibits the sale of many popular semiautomatic rifles, pistols and shotguns and magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.
“The NRA will not sit idly by while progressive politicians strip the rights of law-abiding citizens, and our world-class legal team is locked, loaded and ready to shoot down this outrageous gun-control law,” said John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.
He called the new law a “blatant violation of Second Amendment rights.”
The NRA’s complaint in federal court argues that Virginia’s bans are unconstitutional because they prohibit many of the most commonly possessed arms in the nation.
As the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller, a ban on arms “in common use” violates the Second Amendment, the group said.
“To be banned under this historical practice, an arm must be both dangerous and unusual,” the NRA says in its lawsuit, McDonald v. Katz.
“Arms that are in common use — as the firearms and magazines Virginia has banned unquestionably are — cannot be unusual or dangerous,” the lawsuit says. “Therefore, they cannot be banned, and the Virginia laws challenged herein must be declared unconstitutional by a court competent to do so.”
Ms. Spanberger, a Democrat, said the law makes Virginians safer.
“I am signing this bill into law because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets. We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe,” she said at the signing ceremony Thursday.
She said she had not given up on putting exceptions in the law for hunting weapons.
“While the General Assembly chose not to adopt my amendment that specifically carves out certain firearms frequently used for hunting, I will work with the patrons to clarify this language,” she said.
The new gun laws take effect on July 1.
The NRA filed the lawsuits in federal court and the Virginia state court.
Other pro-Second Amendment organizations took legal action elsewhere: The Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the Virginia Citizens Defense League Foundation and Second Amendment advocate John Crump filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Lancaster County against Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Jeffrey S. Katz.
The complaint is brought under Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution, which says, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The plaintiffs said that Virginia’s constitutional protection is at least as strong as the federal one.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted on X, above a screenshot of the now-approved legislation Ms. Spanberger signed, “See you in court.”
Ms. Dhillon warned Ms. Spanberger last month that the new gun-control laws would face a Department of Justice lawsuit.
Last month, Ms. Spanberger signed several other laws restricting firearms in Virginia, including banning the manufacture, sale and possession of untraceable “ghost guns” and exposing firearm manufacturers and dealers to lawsuits when negligent business practices contribute to gun violence.
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