(The Center Square) – A Washington County Circuit Court judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Virginia’s new assault firearms and magazine ban, marking the second injunction issued against the law in five days before its Wednesday effective date.
Senate Bill 749 and House Bill 217 prohibit the future sale, purchase, manufacture, importation and transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms and magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. Virginians who already legally own affected firearms and magazines generally would still be allowed to keep them.
Judge Jeffrey L. Campbell issued the injunction in Santolla v. Katz, a lawsuit challenging the law under Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution.
A preliminary injunction is a temporary court order that pauses enforcement of a law while the underlying case is decided.
Campbell found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their constitutional claims, writing that enforcement of the law would likely deprive them of constitutionally protected rights while the case proceeds.
“The Plaintiffs have shown that enforcement of the subject Bans would likely amount to a deprivation of their Constitutionally protected rights,” Campbell wrote.
The judge acknowledged the General Assembly’s goal of reducing gun violence, calling lawmakers’ efforts “laudable,” but wrote that courts have a duty to intervene when a law is likely unconstitutional.
The order applies to Virginia State Police and the commonwealth’s attorneys for Washington, Chesterfield, Frederick, York and Giles counties, as well as the city of Chesapeake.
The injunction remains in effect until further order of the court or July 1, 2027.
Monday’s ruling follows a June 25 preliminary injunction issued by a Lancaster County Circuit Court judge in a separate lawsuit challenging the same law. That injunction is scheduled to remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2026.
The Washington County case is one of several legal challenges to Virginia’s new firearm restrictions. The Virginia Supreme Court has appointed a three-judge panel to determine whether several state constitutional lawsuits challenging the law should be consolidated, while a separate federal lawsuit challenging the law also remains pending.
The Office of the Attorney General did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
