Key Takeaways
- Virginia courts, including Lancaster County, have paused litigation over the state’s assault firearms ban amid ongoing challenges.
- The law, signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, defines ‘assault firearms’ and bans magazines over 15 rounds, effective July 1.
- Gun Owners of America secured a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the ban until December 31, 2026, allowing ongoing legal proceedings.
- The Supreme Court’s review on assault weapon bans influences the timing of Virginia’s court decisions, creating uncertainty for gun owners.
- Attorney General Jay Jones emphasizes defending the law’s constitutionality while acknowledging the current legal ambiguities.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
RICHMOND, VA — Four other courts had already hit pause on the litigation over Virginia’s ban on so-called assault firearms and on magazines holding more than 15 rounds. A Lancaster County Court judge has now joined them.
Back in May I covered Lawsuits Hit Virginia’s New “Assault Firearm” Ban Within 24 Hours of Spanberger’s Signature, when the ink was barely dry and the courthouse filings were already stacking up. What has changed is that the challenges have stopped moving one by one, and this ruling adds another to the pile. The court granted a stay Friday in John Crump, et al. v. Jeffrey S. Katz, a decision that aligns Lancaster County with three other Virginia state courts and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, all of which had already granted similar stays in challenges to the law, as reported by WWBT. A stay is a pause. The case stays alive, but it stops moving while the court waits on something else, and the something else here is the U.S. Supreme Court, which is currently reviewing challenges to assault weapon bans.
The underlying law is what Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed this spring. It makes any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases or transfers an “assault firearm” guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, and it defines that term to cover semiautomatic rifles chambered in anything other than .22 rimfire, along with rifles carrying common features like a collapsing stock, a pistol grip or a threaded barrel. It also bans magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. The effective date was July 1.
Before any of the stays, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and the Virginia Citizens Defense League won a preliminary injunction in Crump v. Katz on June 25. GOA says that order prevents the Virginia State Police from enforcing the challenged gun and magazine bans while the case moves through the courts, and that it pushed the enforcement date from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. GOA also says the bans reached publicly carrying many commonly owned firearms, which is why this litigation matters to anyone who follows Virginia’s carry laws rather than only to collectors and buyers.
A month later, NRA-ILA announced a stay in its own challenge under the headline “Court Stays NRA Challenge to Virginia’s ‘Assault Firearm’ and Magazine Bans, Keeping Statewide Injunction in Place Until Supreme Court Rules on ‘Assault Weapon’ Bans.” That is the organization’s characterization of the order, not language from the court.
The commonwealth reads the same rulings very differently. “My office has fought for the uniform and fair application of the law, and today’s decision delivers exactly that,” Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said of the Lancaster County stay. “With the United States Supreme Court now reviewing major challenges to assault weapons bans, this stay ensures Virginia’s cases move forward on solid, consistent footing.” Jones said the law sits firmly within the bounds of the Constitution of Virginia and that his office will keep defending it.
For Virginia gun owners, the practical picture is narrower than the headlines suggest. No court has ruled on the merits of whether these bans are constitutional. What GOA describes is an injunction with an expiration date on it, and an injunction with a date on it is not a repeal. December 31, 2026 is a calendar entry every Virginian who owns one of these rifles or magazines should have written down, because the relief GOA describes runs out on a schedule while the constitutional question sits and waits on Washington.
More from USA Carry:
The pattern is the story now. Four state courts and one federal court have each decided, if the reporting and the parties’ accounts hold, that Virginia’s answer should come after the Supreme Court speaks rather than before. Gun owners get breathing room. They do not get certainty.
I will continue tracking John Crump, et al. v. Jeffrey S. Katz and the related Virginia challenges as they move through the state and federal courts.
