The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed lawsuits Wednesday against Virginia and California, alleging that newly enacted firearm restrictions in both states violate the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.
The complaint filed against Virginia in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia challenges Senate Bill 749, which Governor Abigail Spanberger signed in May. The law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to sell, purchase, import, manufacture or transfer firearms classified as “assault firearms,” including AR-15-style rifles.
Additionally, Senate Bill 749 separately restricts magazines holding more than 15 rounds. The DOJ argues that the ban cannot survive the test established in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen because the covered rifles are “in common use” by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. The complaint acknowledges contrary precedent from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which upheld Maryland’s assault weapons ban in Bianchi v. Brown, but it contends that the case was wrongly decided and asks that it be overturned.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized the significance of the Virginia lawsuit in protecting the right to bear arms: “The Constitution is not a suggestion, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.” The law was set to take effect Wednesday but is currently blocked by state court injunctions won by gun rights groups. A spokesperson for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones’s office said the commonwealth will defend the measure, arguing that it will “keep Virginians safe, protect law enforcement, and safeguard communities across the Commonwealth.”
The lawsuit filed against California in the US District Court for the Central District of California targets Assembly Bill 1127, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed in October. The law, effective Wednesday, bars licensed dealers from selling “semiautomatic machinegun-convertible pistol[s],” defined to encompass handguns with a cruciform trigger bar, a design feature of Glock and similar pistols that legislators say makes them easy to convert into automatic weapons.
The suit also seeks to halt enforcement of the state’s handgun “Roster,” which limits retail sales to models with state-mandated safety features. Blanche called the restrictions a “blatant trampling of our rights.” A spokesperson for Newsom responded that the administration is “trying to dismantle California’s commonsense gun safety laws.”
Both suits were brought under 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which permits the US to seek equitable relief against a “pattern or practice” of conduct by government officers that deprives people of constitutional rights.
The complaints come one day after the US Supreme Court agreed to hear Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, challenges to assault weapons bans in Illinois and Connecticut, respectively. It also shortly follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in Wolford v. Lopez, which struck down a Hawaii restriction on carrying firearms onto private property open to the public.
