This is shaping up to be a banner day for Second Amendment advocates. On Thursday morning, the Supreme Court drove a stake through the heart of Hawaii's "vampire rule" banning concealed carry by default on all private property accessible to the public. And on Thursday afternoon, Second Amendment advocates secured an injunction that will hopefully stop Virginia's ban on "assault firearms" and "large capacity" magazines from taking effect next Wednesday.
🚨BREAKING🚨
— Gun Owners Foundation (@GunFoundation) June 25, 2026
GOF, @GunOwners, & @VCDL_ORG secured a Preliminary Injunction in our lawsuit against Virginia’s so-called Assault Weapons Ban.
This prevents state police from enforcing this tyrannical law while our case goes through the court system. https://t.co/sEggZfI1E5
Courthouse News reporter Joe Dodson shared a little more info from the hearing in Lancaster County Circuit Court.
BREAKING: Lancaster Judge grants preliminary injunction barring Virginia State Police from enforcing the assault weapons ban that was set to take effect on July 1. The injunction lasts until Dec. 31 or until a final order is released. @CourthouseNews
— Joe Dodson (@joedodson16) June 25, 2026
This is tremendous news, and I hope the injunction sticks. You can guarantee, though, that Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones will swiftly appeal today's verdict in the hopes that the Virginia Court of Appeals or the state Supreme Court will block the judge's order from taking effect and allow the law banning the sale, manufacture, and transfer of many commonly owned arms to be enforced on July 1.
This case, known as Crump v. Katz, is one of four state-level challenges to the gun and magazine ban that argue the new law violates Article 1, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution, which states:
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
The federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Virginia, has previously ruled that bans on so-called assault weapons are constitutional for the utterly insane reason that firearms like the AR-15 aren't protected by the Second Amendment because they're "unusually dangerous" arms that are akin to machine guns.
That makes a federal challenge to Virginia's ban incredibly difficult to succeed, at least before it gets to SCOTUS. The Fourth Circuit has no oversight over the Virginia Constitution, though, and its ruling in Snope v. Brown has no bearing on the legal challenges filed in circuit courts across the state.
A second hearing in an NRA-affiliated lawsuit is taking place in Washington County, Virginia as well, though so far there's been no word on the outcome. The Lancaster County judge made his ruling from the bench, and we don't have the full details about his rationale for granting the injunction, but based on the criteria for doing so he apparently believes the plaintiffs in the case will suffer irreparable harm if the law is allowed to take effect, and that he believes their are likely to win their case when its fully tried and adjudicated.
Plaintiff John Crump provided some details of the ruling in a livestream, saying that the judge denied VCDL and GOA standing in the case, but did acknowledge that Crump himself had standing to sue over the law.
Virginia Assault Weapon Ban BLOCKED! https://t.co/nKDiuBfz7Q
— John Crump (@right2bear) June 25, 2026
So what happens now? Well, the Attorney General will most likely file an emergency motion requesting a stay of the injunction pending an appeal, which will shortly be followed by an appeal of the judge's decision to the Virginia Court of Appeals. In addition to arguing that the law is necessary for public safety, Jones will also probably point out that the state Supreme Court has appointed a three-judge panel to decide whether the four legal challenges should be consolidated into one case, and that today's decision interferes with that process.
That argument shouldn't carry much weight, given that the panel has not even asked the parties for briefs yet even though the law is supposed to take effect next Wednesday, but you never know what the courts will do here in the Commonwealth. I'm extremely encouraged by this development, but if you're a Virginia gun owner who's been thinking about buying a soon-to-be-banned firearm or magazine before July 1, I wouldn't let this stop you from heading to your nearest gun store and stocking up just in case.
***UPDATE***
The hearing in Washington County has concluded, and the judge did not issue a ruling from the bench. Brandon Jarvis from the Virginia Scope also pointed out a major difference between the injunction that was issued by the Lancaster County judge and what the plaintiffs are asking for in Washington County.
Sen. Bill Stanley was the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Washington County circuit court hearing on the assault weapon ban today. This is a different case than the one just out of Lancaster. Stanley did not get an immediate ruling from the judge today, but he expects it in the…
— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) June 25, 2026
If the Lancaster County judge only enjoined the Virginia State Police from enforcing the gun and magazine ban, that means that local law enforcement in places like blue parts of the state like Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, and Richmond can still enforce the prohibition on sales and transfers on July 1, even if the courts don't put the injunction on hold. Take that into account if you're thinking about waiting until July 1 to hit up a northern Virginia gun store to buy a 30-round magazine or a pistol with a threaded barrel.
***UPDATES***
VCDL's Philip Van Cleave has more details from the Lancaster County judge.
VCDL/GOA lawsuit victory! The judge in Lancaster County has issued a temporary injunction against enforcement of both the “assault firearm“ ban and carry prohibition. I’m not sure about the magazine ban yet, but I should know soon and will advise. For now the enjoinment applies…
— Philip Van Cleave VCDL (@VCDL_ORG) June 25, 2026
I would assume that the mag ban would also be enjoined, but we'll see. I'm happy to see that the prohibition on carrying so-called assault firearms is also a part of the injunction, but again, if this applies only to the VSP then local law enforcement can still make arrests... and in deep-blue northern Virginia I'm sure there are plenty of jurisdictions that will enforce the law to the best of their ability if they're not blocked from doing so.
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