Some Virginia Prosecutors Refusing To Enforce New Gun Laws

This is odd. 

Seems the same lefties who are unbothered by Fairfax County’s Soros-backed commonwealth’s attorney reluctance to prosecute illegal aliens or turn them over to ICE are having hissy fits over prosecutors who announced that they won’t enforce Virginia’s new - likely unconstitutional - gun law.

Maybe some law-abiding citizens wouldn’t feel the need to arm themselves if criminals weren’t being turned loose on the public by soft-on-crime prosecutors.

Earlier this month Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed into law a sweeping prohibition on certain types of semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines. This includes of course, America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15. It’s estimated that 20 to 25 million ARs are already in the hands of civilians in the U.S.

After July 1, it will be a crime to sell, manufacture, import or transfer such a weapon in Virginia. Those who already own ARs will be grandfathered under the statute.

Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the law have been filed in state and federal court and the U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to hear a case from another jurisdiction that addresses a similar ban.

Hopefully, this Virginia law could be short-lived.

In the meantime, commonwealth’s attorneys in at least four jurisdictions have already signaled that they will not be enforcing the new gun restrictions. As constitutional officers, they are sworn to uphold the constitution and are answerable to the voters, not the governor. 

First to stand up and be counted was Spotsylvania’s top prosecutor Ryan Mehaffey. He’s been joined by Powhatan’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, Robert Cerullo, Smyth County’s CA, Phillip “Bucky” Blevins and Pulaski County’s top cop, Justin Griffith.

“Please be advised that it is my opinion that significant parts of House Bill 217 – specifically, bans of so called assault firearms, large capacity ammunition feeding devices and the carrying of these items in public – are facially unconstitutional,” wrote Powhatan Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Cerullo in a letter to Powhatan Sheriff Bradford Nunnally.

Blevins issued a statement from his office.

“After careful review of the legislation and existing Supreme Court precedent, I find the assault weapon ban signed by the Governor on May 15, 2026 unconstitutional – and as a result, unenforceable,” Blevins said in a statement. “My office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the unconstitutional assault weapon ban.”

WRIC reports the following:

“Firearms that are in common use are gonna be permitted under the Second Amendment. Under Bruen, any restrictions have to be consistent with the historical tradition of the nation, and in Virginia, the historical tradition was not only to permit people to have AR-15s or basic infantry weapons, but it required them to do so in Virginia’s historical tradition,” said Mehaffey.

Meanwhile, Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney Justin Griffith said in a letter, in part, “enforcement of criminal laws is at the discretion of the Commonwealth’s Attorney of each locality.” Griffith added, “I am not going to take law-abiding citizens as of June 30, 2026 and criminalize that same behavior on July 1, 2026 solely on the basis of this new law.”

There are unconfirmed reports that Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney, John Bell, is also signaling his unwillingness to prosecute this unconstitutional law passed by radical leftists in Virginia. These bold prosecutors are likely to be joined by others who believe that the 2nd Amendment protects the rights of Americans to possess these popular rifles.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said this week that he expects prosecutors to enforce the law.

Good luck with that. Doubtful that Virginia’s level-headed commonwealth’s attorneys will take their marching orders from a man who dreamed of putting two bullets in the head of a political opponents and wishing that man’s children would die.

Industry data from April shows that Virginia ranked second for long gun sales nationwide last month in anticipation of Spanberger’s signature on the bill, which came on May 14.

Sales-related background checks jumped by nearly 79% year-over-year, with residents clearing out local store inventories, according to some news reports.

Looks like Virginia’s far-left politicians ginned up sales of the precise firearms they long to ban.