A court order is not something to be taken lightly, even if you are politically powerful and have a rabid base that you constantly need to appease. This hard lesson hit Virginia lawmakers when they chose to ignore their duty.
Old Dominion is one of a growing number of states that continue to push for government control of all firearms. Anti-gun Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) in April signed a massive gun control package into law, prompting a quick legal response from Second Amendment groups.
Then her administration chose to ignore Virginia’s own judicial system.
Law enforcement resumed private background checks despite injunction
Spanberger asked for and received an “emergency clause” for HB 1525, the background check provision for all private firearm transactions. In doing this, she tried to bulldoze through a Circuit Court injunction issued last October prohibiting exactly that.
It remains in force.
The Virginia Attorney General’s office requested that the injunction be scrapped in May, but that has not transpired. Despite this, on May 27, the AG announced that background checks on all private gun sales would once again be conducted by the Virginia State Police (VSP).
Anti-gunners suffered a setback, but the fight for gun rights is hardly over
Enter the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL). The Second Amendment advocates immediately filed a motion for contempt of court against the VSP for deliberately ignoring the clear mandate of Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Patrick Yeatts.
At a hearing last week, the VSP learned in no uncertain terms that the injunction against state control of private firearm sales remains in force. The good news is that authorities quickly updated the VSP website to announce that the agency no longer provides this “service.”
VSDL President Philip Van Cleave celebrated the judge’s declaration. “What happened yesterday in court was important for Virginia’s gun owners and actually important for all of us because it reinforced our Constitution.”
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