If you're a fan of melodrama, then Virginia has you covered. You had the outgoing, affable governor that really didn't go out of his way to make a stink, replaced by a supposed moderate who said she and her cohort just wanted to make living more affordable, only for there to be a hard heel turn as soon as they took office.
I swear, if this were on television, it would have to be in Spanish; it's so outlandish.
But that's what's happened in Virginia, and while one of the laws passed is an assault weapon ban, a lot of prosecutors are stepping up to say they're not going to prosecute people for breaking it.
It's funny because when leftist prosecutors decided they weren't going to prosecute people for some marijuana offenses, and the state courts said they had to, Democrats passed a law that said prosecutors could exercise their own discretion. In other words, they set the stage.
Still, the ban's sponsor lashed out at those prosecutors. Now, the National Shooting Sports Foundation is firing back.
Virginia’s ardent antigun lawmakers pushing an unconstitutional ban on commonly owned semiautomatic firearms are now facing resistance from the very prosecutors expected to enforce it.
Instead of addressing serious constitutional concerns raised by elected Commonwealth’s Attorneys across the Commonwealth, Democratic Commonwealth Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, the sponsor of Senate Bill 749, chose instead to declare those in opposition to the gun ban are using its passage as “an opportunity for tough guy posturing” and “amateur constitutional lawyering,” adding, “My message to anyone thinking about breaking Virginia law is, don’t bet on Virginia law enforcement ignoring it.” Someone should remind Sen. Salim that Commonwealth attorneys are part of Virginia law enforcement who swore an oath to defend the constitution. And Sen. Salim would do well to read Virginia law because it gives Commonwealth attorneys prosecutorial discretion to decide on which crimes to prosecute. Importantly, even Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, when signing the legislation into law, let it slip that the banned firearms are “frequently used for hunting,” meaning common firearms used for common, lawful purposes.
Sen. Salim’s comments came after several prosecutors publicly indicated they would be reluctant to pursue cases under legislation they believe conflicts with the Second Amendment.
For example, in Clarke County, Sheriff Travis M. Sumption and Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Bass issued a joint statement saying charges and prosecutions under the new statutes, “will not be enforced in Clarke County against nonviolent offenders, where no other criminal conduct is alleged.” The statement cited constitutional concerns, pending litigation and limited local resources, according to local media.
The dispute highlights the growing legal and constitutional challenges facing firearm bans that target some of the most commonly owned firearms in America. It also raises serious questions about whether lawmakers pushing these restrictions are prepared to defend them under the constitutional standards recently established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Author Larry Keane also notes that this is a ban written around a political label, not anything meaningful. Plus, let's not forget that this is the most popular model of rifle in the United States. Like it or not, the whole "in common use" thing comes into play, and while I don't think that standard should matter, the Supreme Court said it does, so for now, it matters.
And there's no universe in which the most popular rifle in the country isn't rightfully considered "in common use."
Plus, there will be a legal fight, and that's assuming that the Supreme Court doesn't get off its keister and take on an assault weapon ban case and settle the matter before that fight gets underway.
Here's hoping.
Look, I don't live in Virginia anymore and haven't since the 1990s. I was in the Norfolk area, which is stupidly blue despite the heavy military presence, but even then, people weren't really clamoring for an assault weapon ban, even when the federal ban was passed. I'm not sure this is really what the voters wanted from Spanberger et. al.
Of course, they also probably didn't particularly want redistricting when they voted in November, but the cabal in Richmond tried that, too, so here we are.
There's nothing about this that's right, and these prosecutors are doing the important work of calling it out. They don't have to prosecute a damn thing, thanks to the same people who are now outraged about prosecutorial discretion, which just makes it more and more hilarious.
