Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), alongside Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and 2A journalist John Crump, have filed a lawsuit today in direct response to Virginia’s enactment of SB749 and SB727, the “assault weapons” ban and public carry ban.
These two bills represent the most immediate threat to the rights of every law-abiding gun owner in Virginia, GOA said in a prepared statement.
By criminalizing the purchase and transfer of the most popular firearms in America and effectively banning self-defense in public spaces, these laws are a direct assault on the Second Amendment and stand in open defiance of Virginia’s own constitution and necessitate an immediate strike in court, the statement said.
“Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution guarantees that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Therefore, our lawsuit demands a declaratory judgment and an injunction to prevent these unconstitutional laws from taking effect on July 1st,” GOA said.
“Governor Spanberger has declared war on the rights of all Virginians,” said GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt. “By banning the most commonly-owned firearms and standard-capacity magazines in America, the state is disarming law-abiding citizens, while doing absolutely nothing to stop violent crime.”
“Governor Spanberger and the anti-gun Democrats in the General Assembly are proud to openly violate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Virginians, and their glee is an affront to the motto and ethos of this commonwealth,” Chris Stone, GOA director of State Affairs, added. “Gun Owners of America and our friends at Virginia Citizens Defense League look forward to challenging them in court.”
