Meet the Virginia Prosecutors Who Say They Won’t Enforce Democrats’ ‘Assault Firearm’ and Magazine Ban

Barring an injunction, Virginia’s new ban on “assault firearms” and “large capacity” magazines will take effect on July 1, but there are already signs that enforcing the ban may be a challenge outside of Democrat-controlled enclaves in the commonwealth. 

We’ve already seen at least two Commonwealth Attorneys declare they will not be enforcing the provisions of the ban, at least in most circumstances. 

On Friday, Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey sent a letter to Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris, declaring that the new legislation cannot be “lawfully enforced” based on recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents.

“The Assault Weapons Ban (SB 749/HB 217) and the Public Carry Ban (SB 727/HB 1524) are undoubtedly inconsistent with the historical tradition of Virginia, as articulated by Miller, and are thus unconstitutional under Bruen,” Mehaffey wrote in the letter. He added, “Moreover, Heller secures the right of Virginians to keep and bear the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15.”

On Sunday, Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins Jr. said he too will not be looking to enforce the ban on the sale, manufacture, and transfer of “assault firearms” and “large capacity” magazines. The ban on publicly carrying so-called assault firearms is also on Blevins’s “do not enforce” list. 

Blevins said in a release addressed to “All Smyth County Law Enforcement” that the new law is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. 

After careful review of the legislation and existing Supreme Court precedent, I find the assault weapon ban signed by the Governor on May 15, 2026 unconstitutional – and as a result, unenforceable. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the Second Amendment protects firearms commonly owned by law abiding citizens.

As Commonwealth’s Attorney, I took an oath to uphold both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia. That oath requires more than mechanical enforcement of statutes. I must exercise prosecutorial discretion, constitutional judgment, and fidelity to the rule of law. As such, my office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the
unconstitutional assault weapon ban.

Blevins added, however, that his policy does not apply to “violent offenders, prohibited possessors, drug traffickers, gang-related offenses, or individuals using firearms in furtherance of criminal activity.”

I appreciate the prosecutor’s position, though I think it would be more consistent if he simply refused to enforce these statutes altogether. Violent offenders, prohibited possessors, drug traffickers, gang-related offenses involving firearms, and individuals using guns to further criminal actiivity could all be charged under the statutes that criminalize that behavior. Blevins doesn’t need to add on a misdemeanor charge of possessing an “assault firearm” in these cases, and if he truly believes that the “assault firearm” ban is unconstitutional then I don’t know why he’d agree to enforce it in some circumstances. 

We’re likely going to see more Commonwealth Attorneys and county sheriffs issue similar statements ahead of July 1. How will this play out in practice? I suppose any gun shops in these counties could continue to sell so-called assault firearms and “large capacity” magazines without having to worry about their local prosecutor charging them. Virginia statute limits where and when the state’s Attorney General can conduct criminal prosecutions, and it doesn’t appear to me that AG Jay Jones would have any authority to charge an FFL with violating the ban on selling “assault firearms” and “large capacity” magazines. Doing so, though, could open the door to civil lawsuits, and we’ll have to see if any gun stores try to openly defy the sales ban once it takes effect. 

What about organized acts of civil disobedience to the carry ban? Maybe we’ll see an open carry rally in Spotsylvania and/or Smyth counties over the Independence Day weekend, though none have been announced to date. 

Ahead of the July 1 enactment date, Virginia gun owners need to continue to put pressure on their local sheriffs and prosecutors to join Mehaffey and Blevins in declaring their intent not to enforce these new prohibitions. There are dozens of counties that have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries since late 2019, and it’s time for these officials to prove they weren’t uttering empty promises when they vowed not to enforce any laws repugnant to our Second Amendment rights. 

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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