The New “Sanctuary” Jurisdictions That Are Driving Democrats Crazy

A new law signed by Virginia Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger earlier this year would prohibit the sale or transfer of vast numbers of firearms – but more than a dozen local Virginia prosecutors have said they simply won’t enforce the ban. They’re using Democrats’ own tactic of creating “sanctuary” jurisdictions for illegal aliens against them by establishing “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”

The law in question, set to go into effect on July 1, prohibits Virginians from buying so-called “assault firearms.” According to Virginia Public Media, the ban covers “semiautomatic rifles, pistols, shotguns and other firearms that can hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition.”

As previously reported by AMAC Newsline, the law has faced fierce backlash from its inception. Opponents argue that it sweeps up many firearms commonly used for sport shooting and self-defense, not just the AR-15-style guns that have become a bogeyman for the anti-gun left.

Soon after Spanberger signed the ban, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon vowed to challenge the law in court. Second Amendment groups also subsequently filed both state and federal lawsuits, saying that the law clearly violates Supreme Court precedent.

Spanberger may have unintentionally lent credence to that argument by openly admitting that the guns being banned are in “common use.” She specifically noted that “the General Assembly chose not to adopt my amendment that specifically carves out certain firearms frequently used for hunting” – an apparent violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller. (2008).

That ruling affirmed an individual right to own guns, particularly those “in common use” for activities like hunting.

As an added black eye for Spanberger, Virginia has seen a massive spike in gun sales ahead of the July 1 deadline. In May, the state saw nearly double the number of gun purchases from the same time last year. In an ironic twist, by trying to ban certain types of firearms outright, Democrats have ensured that there are more of them than ever in gun safes throughout the Commonwealth.

But Spanberger’s legal and PR headache over the gun ban may be the least of her concerns. She is also facing a direct challenge from the individuals whom she relies on to actually enforce the law – local prosecutors and sheriffs.

At least 13 county prosecutors have already vowed not to enforce the “assault weapon” ban, as well as a new ban on public carry, according to local media. These prosecutors argue that because the laws in question are clearly unconstitutional, it would be wrong to enforce them.

“It’s incumbent upon constitutional officers in Virginia to come out and clearly state that [the laws] cannot be lawfully enforced, and to defend the people’s rights to keep and bear arms,” said Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffery. “In Spotsylvania County, we have some very rural areas, places that still have farms, places where people live and work in fields on tractors, and they hunt,” he added.

Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell came to a similar conclusion, determining the laws are “facially unconstitutional or constitutionally suspect under Heller, McDonald, and Bruen, and that their enforcement would violate the rights of law-abiding citizens of Warren County.”

In McDonald v. Chicago (2010) the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects Americans from gun restrictions passed by state and local governments, striking down Chicago’s effective ban on handguns. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Court strengthened that protection by holding that Americans cannot be forced to prove a special need before exercising their right to carry a firearm for self-defense.

“Consistent with this Office’s exercise of lawful prosecutorial discretion, this Office declines to pursue prosecution under the statutes identified below,” Bell stated.

Similarly, Culpeper County Sheriff Tim Chilton said he does not plan to enforce the law except in rare situations, following consultation with the county’s prosecutor.

“It’s not up to me to pretend that I am the lawmaker. I am the enforcer but not of laws that are improper or unconstitutional,” he explained. Instead, Chilton said that he “is charged with making sound decisions and using discretion when necessary.”

Unsurprisingly, Democrats have reacted with outrage to the refusal by some conservative prosecutors to enforce the bans, arguing that they must enforce every law on the books.

Democrat Attorney General Jay Jones (who infamously texted a Republican lawmaker fantasizing about shooting a Republican delegate and his family) said prosecutors “are elected to enforce our laws, which is what we expect them to do when these laws take effect on July 1.”

But that is not a consistent position of Democrats in the state. As ABC 7 pointed out, Democrat Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano “dropped charges on several violent suspects, like illegal immigrant Abdul Jalloh.” Jalloh went on to murder an innocent woman at a bus stop. Descano has also “dropped numerous gun crime charges against illegal immigrants who then went on to commit more crimes.”

Moreover, dozens of localities throughout Virginia are listed on the Center for Immigration Studies’ (CIS) tracker of illegal alien sanctuary jurisdictions. These jurisdictions, CIS reports, “have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE – either by refusing to or prohibiting agencies from complying with ICE detainers.”

In other words, Democrats in these Virginia jurisdictions are refusing to enforce federal immigration law. But unlike Spanberger’s gun bans, the nation’s immigration laws are entirely constitutional.

Earlier this month, a federal court smacked down yet another attack on the Second Amendment in the Old Dominion – a background check requirement that the court had already ruled illegal a year earlier, but which the Democrat legislature passed again anyway. Now, Virginia’s attempted gun bans are shaping up to be yet another embarrassing defeat for the already embattled Governor Spanberger and her Democrat legislative majority.

Matt Lamb is an AMAC Newsline contributor and associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.