The Commonwealth’s Attorney for Spotsylvania County, Va., said he would not enforce new bans on modern semiautomatic weapons signed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
Pro-Second Amendment organizations sued to have the bans struck down as unconstitutional minutes after Spanberger signed the relevant bills into law Thursday evening. Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey wrote a letter Friday to Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris, citing Supreme Court decisions as the basis of his belief that the law couldn’t be “lawfully enforced.”
“The Assault Weapons Ban (SB 749/HB 217) and the Public Carry Ban (SB 727/HB 1524) are undoubtedly inconsistent with the historical tradition of Virginia, as articulated by Miller [v. United States], and are thus unconstitutional under Bruen,” Mehaffey wrote.
“Moreover, Heller secures the right of Virginians to keep and bear the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15,” Mehaffey continued.
My good friend and fellow Oath Keeper, Commonwealth Attorney Ryan Mehaffey is supporting our resolution declaring Spotsylvania County a 2A Sanctuary county.
We will not comply with Governor Spanberger’s infringement on our unalienable Constitutional rights pic.twitter.com/XckrpFKNV0
— Andrew “Drew” Mullins (@realDrewMullins) May 16, 2026
Mehaffey’s letter drew praise from the Vice Chair of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, who noted the county had declared itself a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”
“My good friend and fellow Oath Keeper, Commonwealth Attorney Ryan Mehaffey, is supporting our resolution declaring Spotsylvania County a 2A Sanctuary county,” Mullins posted. “We will not comply with Governor Spanberger’s infringement on our unalienable Constitutional rights.”
The Trump administration also signaled its intent to sue in a Thursday night X post X by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. The Department of Justice sued the city of Denver over a similar ban on May 5 and filed litigation seeking to throw out Colorado’s magazine ban on May 6.
“Assault weapons” is a euphemism gun-control advocates use to gain support for banning certain semiautomatic firearms with features cosmetically similar to firearms capable of fully-automatic operation. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimated in a January release that over 32 million “modern sporting rifles,” which include the AR-15, are “in circulation.”
Spanberger did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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