Justice Department Sues Virginia Over New Assault Weapons Ban

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Virginia, claiming the state's new law restricting the sale and purchase of certain semiautomatic firearms violates the Second Amendment.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday against the commonwealth and the Virginia State Police, challenges SB749, a law that took effect Wednesday and prohibits the commercial sale and purchase of many AR-15-style rifles and other assault weapons.

The lawsuit also comes just days after a Virginia judge issued an injunction temporarily prohibiting state police from implementing or enforcing the ban.

• RELATED: Judge Blocks Controversial VA Assault Weapons Ban

According to the Justice Department, the law unconstitutionally restricts firearms commonly owned by Americans for lawful purposes. The lawsuit claims Virginia's enforcement of the law violates the constitutional rights of residents seeking to buy and sell protected firearms.

"The Constitution is not a suggestion, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "This Justice Department has done more to protect the Second Amendment than any administration in our nation’s history, and we will continue to do so whenever necessary."

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the lawsuit follows an earlier warning that the Justice Department would sue if the legislation became law.

"Law-abiding Americans should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction for simply exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms owned by millions of their fellow citizens," Dhillon said.

The case was filed by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which now includes a Second Amendment Section responsible for enforcing federal protections related to the right to keep and bear arms.

State Del. Dan Helmer, who authored the ban, released a statement following the Justice Department's announcement, accusing the Trump administration of "satiating the gun lobby and gun manufacturers who have profited for years from the epidemic of gun violence in our Commonwealth."

"We are going to fight this tooth and nail. We are going to continue to work every single day to deliver a future for Virginia’s children that is free from the specter of gun violence. And we are not going to cave to an authoritarian regime that chooses profits over innocent lives," Helmer said.

Ban Faced Local Pushback

As the ban approached its effective date, a growing number of local elected officials publicly said they would not enforce or prosecute violations, citing the law's constitutionality. Their opposition primarily came from two groups: commonwealth attorneys, who decide whether to prosecute criminal charges, and sheriffs, who oversee law enforcement in their jurisdictions.

Among them was Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger Harris.

“As your Sheriff of Spotsylvania County, I want to reaffirm my unwavering commitment to protecting and defending the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States to every citizen of Spotsylvania County,” Harris said in a letter sent to county residents.

Sheriffs in Amherst, Campbell, Carroll, Floyd, Page, Scott and Washington counties also publicly stated they would not enforce, or directed their offices not to enforce, the ban.

• RELATED: Spotsylvania Sheriff Says Office Will Not Enforce New Virginia Firearms Law