A Washington County Circuit Court judge said in a Tuesday amended letter opinion that his preliminary injunction against Virginia’s new assault weapons and large-capacity magazine restrictions will apply statewide beginning July 21.
Judge Jeffrey L. Campbell issued the amended opinion after attorneys for the plaintiffs and the state attorney general’s office disagreed over the wording of the proposed order following his June 29 preliminary injunction.
According to the opinion, the plaintiffs argued the injunction should apply statewide, while the commonwealth argued it should be limited to the named defendants in the lawsuit.
Campbell sided with the plaintiffs, writing that limiting the injunction could prevent them from obtaining complete relief and create inconsistent enforcement of the law across Virginia.
The judge wrote that because Virginia’s newly enacted law restricts the transportation of certain firearms, limiting the injunction to specific defendants could leave someone protected in one jurisdiction but subject to prosecution after crossing into another locality.
Campbell wrote that the court was concerned limiting the injunction could create a “treacherous patchwork of enforcement” for both plaintiffs and law enforcement agencies.
The amended opinion states the injunction will apply to all law enforcement agencies, including local law enforcement officers and commonwealth’s attorneys responsible for enforcing the law.
Campbell delayed the effective date until July 21, writing that the clerk should provide notice of the injunction to law enforcement agencies and commonwealth’s attorneys throughout Virginia before it takes effect.
