Virginia Wanted One Gun-Ban Lawsuit Instead of Four. The Panel Said No.
A three-judge panel unanimously denied Virginia’s bid to merge four lawsuits against its assault firearm and magazine ban. Two courts have already blocked the law.
You know how in every heist movie there’s a guy who says “we do this my way, or not at all”? Virginia’s attorney general tried that move on the court system, asking to merge all four lawsuits against the state’s new gun ban into one case he’d only have to win once.
On Monday, a three-judge panel appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court graded that request. Denied. Unanimously. Wait for it… unanimously-er. (There is no unanimously-er. It was just very unanimous.)
If you own an MSR or standard-capacity magazines in Virginia, this is the best legal news you’ve had all month, and it comes with a scoreboard.
The ruling: Attorney General Jay Jones argued that the four suits, filed in Washington, Lancaster, Spotsylvania, and Fauquier counties, all attack the same law (SB 749’s ban on so-called “assault firearms” and magazines over 15 rounds) with similar arguments, so one courtroom should handle the lot, according to the ruling. The panel’s answer, translated from legalese: you’re late. “Separate cases have already presented arguments and declarations on the issue of whether a preliminary injunction should be granted in the various jurisdictions where the cases are filed,” the panel wrote. “Further the courts have ruled on those preliminary injunctions in three of the four cases. It is too late to properly prevent inconsistent rulings.”
The inconsistent rulings, in other words, already happened. That ship has sailed, struck an iceberg, and the string quartet is playing.
The scoreboard: Judges in Washington and Lancaster counties have already blocked the ban, both injunctions running against the Virginia State Police, and the Washington County order also covers Chesapeake, York, Frederick, Giles, and Chesterfield. The Lancaster win is Crump v. Katz, brought by Gun Owners of America and the Virginia Citizens Defense League. The Washington County case, Santolla v. Katz, is backed by the NRA. A Spotsylvania judge declined to issue an injunction, and Fauquier hasn’t held its hearing yet. Two blocks, one pass, one pending: precisely the patchwork the state says it was trying to avoid.
Meanwhile, at the gun counter: chaos, mostly. Most Virginia dealers stopped selling the covered rifles when the ban took effect July 1, and the AG’s office put out guidance insisting the law remains in force across most of the commonwealth, injunctions notwithstanding.
What happens next: Jones has already run to the Virginia Supreme Court with an emergency request to un-freeze the ban in Lancaster, per VCDL’s alert. VCDL’s entire response: “We’ll see you in court, Jay!” The state is holding its line. “The Commonwealth remains steadfast in the constitutionality of these laws and optimistic they will be upheld upon final adjudication of the several cases,” said Rae Pickett, communications director for the attorney general’s office.
But sit with the math for a second. Virginia now has to defend this law in four courtrooms, against four different legal theories, and it has to win every single time. The gun owners suing have to win once. Technically they’ve already won twice, if anyone’s keeping score. (We’re keeping score.)
Watch the Supreme Court’s call on that emergency stay, and watch Fauquier. Those are the next two dominoes, and neither one is standing where the guy with the plan wanted them.
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Sources
- Virginia Scope, panel ruling coverage
- VCDL alert: emergency stay request + consolidation denial
- NRA-ILA, Santolla v. Katz case announcement
Justin Trump is the managing editor and owner of CAT Outdoors. The son of a Vietnam veteran, he’s a Certified Glock Armorer, an avid gun enthusiast and 2A advocate. He holds two firearm patents for the CAT M4 and Talon tools. When not managing CAT Outdoors, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, rooting for Michigan sports teams, and serving his church.