Transcription
Hello everyone and welcome back to the channel. I've been covering the gun control debacle in Virginia this year with everything from the laws that were introduced, the ones that were passed, and Governor Spernber are trying to get the police to enforce a law that the courts already struck down as unconstitutional.
Now, a number of sheriffs and prosecutors have said they won't be enforcing the state's ban on so-called assault firearms in large capacity magazines. And of course, the governor and anti-gun attorney general, who notoriously fantasized about shooting his political rivals and somehow still won his position, have something to say about it. Color me unsurprised.
For those of you who might have missed past videos on this, I will link them down in the description, but the short version is this. Virginia passed a bill that prohibits the sale, manufacture, and transfer of many commonly owned firearms and magazines and would ban them from most public places. There's also language in one of these bills to ban under 21s in a way that the courts actually determined created a carveout for under 21s to not go through nicks rather than actually banning them, which was a weird twist that I did not see coming, which a judge already found unconstitutional. Spanberger ordered the police to start enforcing it right here, right now anyway. and they announced they would, but then backed down under pressure from gun rights groups who said um no actually you can't and uh we'll hold you in contempt if you try. So nice job VCDL.
Now several sheriffs and attorneys have said that they believe these new laws are unconstitutional and also will not be enforcing them. Multiple lawsuits have been filed and even threatened by the DOJ, but the laws are still set to go into effect July 1st, barring an injunction between now and then.
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A little over a week ago, Spennsylvania County Commonwealth Attorney G. Ryan Mafy sent a letter to Spennsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Paris declaring that the new legislation cannot be lawfully enforced based on recent US Supreme Court precedents. The assault weapons ban SB749/HB27 and the public carry ban SB727/HB1524 are undoubtedly inconsistent with the historical tradition of Virginia as articulated by Miller and are thus unconstitutional under Breuan. Mafi wrote in the letter. He added, "Moreover, Heler secures the right of Virginiaians to keep and bear the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15. Spennsylvania is one of the state's second amendment sanctuary counties."
Then a few days after that, Smith County Commonwealth Attorney Philip Blevens Jr. also said he won't be enforcing the new bands either. Blevins said in a release addressed to all Smith County law enforcement that the new law is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. An excerpt from his statement is below.
"After careful review of the legislation and existing Supreme Court president, I find the assault weapon ban signed by the governor on May 15th, 2026 unconstitutional and as a result unenforcable. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the Second Amendment protects firearms commonly owned by law-abiding citizens. As Commonwealth Attorney, I took an oath to uphold both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia. That oath requires more than mechanical enforcement of statutes. I must exercise prosecutorial discretion, constitutional judgment, and fidelity to the rule of law. As such, my office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the unconstitutional assault weapon ban."
Though he did note he would be applying these new laws to violent offenders, prohibited persons, drug traffickers, etc. But that stuff is already illegal for them. So it's just a tackon of extra charges.
Now, Scott County has also jumped on that list. I realize that this is a tiny little itty bitty screenshot and a bit hard to read, but here is the text.
"The recently signed Virginia legislation restricting commonly owned semi-automatic firearms has prompted serious concern throughout Scott County and across much of rural Virginia. After careful review of the law and its implications, we believe it is important to state clearly that we do find this law unconstitutional. As constitutional officers, we took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. That oath requires us to evaluate laws not only through the lens of enforcement, but through the principles of constitutional liberty, due process, and the proper limits of governmental authority. The citizens of Scott County are overwhelmingly responsible, law-abiding firearm owners. In our community, firearms are part of a long-standing tradition of hunting, farming, sport shooting, personal protection, and family heritage. The lawful gun owners in Scott County are not a threat to public safety, nor should they be treated as such by their government. We also believe public safety is best served by focusing enforcement efforts on violent criminals and repeat offenders rather than imposing additional restrictions on citizens who have lawfully exercised their constitutional rights for years without incident. Effective law enforcement depends upon maintaining public trust, respecting constitutional boundaries, and directing limited resources toward genuine threats to community safety. Our position is straightforward. We support the Constitution. We support the rights of law-abiding citizens, and we do not believe this unconstitutional law represents the appropriate balance between public safety and constitutional freedom."
Prosecutors from Bohhatan and Pulsaki counties have also made similar statements. Several sheriffs, too, have said they won't be enforcing the laws.
Now, what all of that would look like in practice is anyone's guess. If charges aren't being brought, then people can't be charged. But I guess I guess if AG J wanted to be really spicy, he could still charge FFLs or whoever to his heart's content.
But either way, Attorney General Jay Jones has now made a public statement telling them to all do their jobs. He and some of the state's media, who by the way are lamenting that this is only naughty, naughty conservatives not wanting to uphold this law rather than the fact that they are actually following constitutional law. They have been reminding prosecutors that they took an oath to uphold both the Virginia Constitution and any laws the General Assembly passes, said Jones.
"Gun violence is a key driver of violent crime and the leading cause of death for young people in our Commonwealth. Debunked statistic, but nevertheless, the General Assembly passed and the governor signed critical legislation to reduce violent crime and protect our communities. Commonwealth attorneys are elected to enforce our laws, which is what we expect them to do when these laws take effect on July 1st."
Again, what he plans to do about it, we don't know. Back when it was Governor Northam, he famously threatened to strip them all of their jobs and ban them from ever being employed in the state again. It was uh quite the escalation between the sheriffs and the governor at the time. Oh, 2020. What a bizarre time you were.
Spanberger has not made any threats per se, but a spokesperson put out a similar statement to Jones, saying that if the prosecutors and sheriffs did not enforce these laws, it would be proof the people of Virginia can't trust them to keep them safe.
That is it for this one, folks. Um, I will be following this for as long as I can. We'll see. Um, in the meantime, you guys know the drill for all of the algorithm things. Please do them. And as always, thanks for tuning in. Stay safe out there and happy shooting.