Justice Department Sues Virginia Over New Semi-Automatic Rifle Ban

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, July 1, against the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia State Police, challenging a newly enacted state law that restricts the sale and purchase of certain semi-automatic rifles.

The lawsuit argues the Virginia law violates the Second Amendment by banning what federal officials described as “ordinary semi-automatic rifles owned by millions of Americans,” including AR-15-style firearms.

“The Constitution is not a suggestion, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the Justice Department had previously warned Virginia officials that legal action would follow 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.

Virginia’s law, signed earlier this year by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, makes the commercial sale and purchase of certain AR-15-style rifles illegal. Supporters of the measure argued the restrictions were intended to reduce gun violence and limit access to weapons frequently used in mass shootings.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit contends the firearms remain in common legal use nationwide and are therefore protected under the U.S. Supreme Court’s modern interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Federal officials also argue that Virginia’s enforcement of the law creates what they describe as a “pattern or practice” that deprives citizens of constitutionally protected rights.

The lawsuit was filed through the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which recently established a Second Amendment enforcement section focused on firearm-related constitutional claims.

The legal challenge is expected to become one of the nation’s closely watched Second Amendment cases as courts continue grappling with how far states can go in restricting firearm access following recent Supreme Court rulings expanding gun rights protections.