By The top prosecutor in Spotsylvania County says his office will not enforce two new Virginia gun-control laws signed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, setting up another front in the widening legal and political fight over Second Amendment limits.
Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey informed Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris in a letter that he would not apply the state’s newly enacted assault weapons ban or its separate restriction on carrying certain firearms in public. The announcement came shortly after Spanberger approved the measures and gun-rights organizations moved to challenge them in court, writes The Daily Caller.
In his letter, Mehaffey argued that the laws cannot survive under recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings interpreting the Second Amendment.
“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 [v. United States], and are thus unconstitutional under Bruen,” Mehaffey wrote.
“Moreover, Heller secures the right of Virginians to keep and bear the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15,” he continued.
The measures target firearms commonly described by liberal supporters of gun control as “assault weapons,” a term often applied to semiautomatic rifles that resemble military-style weapons but do not fire automatically. The legislation also restricts carrying or transporting certain covered firearms in public places.
Mehaffey’s refusal reflects the growing resistance among local officials who argue that states are moving beyond regulation and into outright infringement of constitutionally protected conduct. For gun-rights advocates, the central question is whether firearms in common civilian use, including the AR-15, can be prohibited or effectively removed from ordinary public life.
Spotsylvania County has already declared itself a Second Amendment sanctuary, and county leaders quickly embraced Mehaffey’s position.
“My good friend and fellow Oath Keeper, Commonwealth Attorney Ryan Mehaffey is supporting our resolution declaring Spotsylvania County a 2A Sanctuary county,” Mullins posted. “We will not comply with Governor Spanberger’s infringement on our unalienable Constitutional rights.”
My good friend and fellow Oath Keeper, Commonwealth Attorney Ryan Mehaffey is supporting our resolution declaring Spotsylvania County a 2A Sanctuary county.
We will not comply with Governor Spanberger’s infringement on our unalienable Constitutional rights pic.twitter.com/XckrpFKNV0
— Andrew "Drew" Mullins (@realDrewMullins) May 16, 2026
The dispute is part of a broader national battle over how far states may go after the Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Those rulings recognized an individual right to keep and bear arms and required modern firearm restrictions to be evaluated against the nation’s historical tradition of gun regulation.
Gun-control supporters argue that bans on certain semiautomatic firearms are lawful public-safety measures designed to reduce mass-casualty violence. Opponents counter that the laws target weapons owned by millions of Americans for lawful purposes, including self-defense, sport shooting, and hunting.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, more than 32 million modern sporting rifles, including AR-15-style firearms, are in circulation in the United States. That figure is likely to become central in litigation over whether the banned firearms qualify as arms in “common use,” a key Second Amendment standard.
Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Virginia cases are expected to move quickly through the courts, where judges will be asked to decide whether the state’s new restrictions fit within the constitutional framework set by the Supreme Court. In Spotsylvania County, however, the county’s chief prosecutor has already reached his own conclusion: the laws will not be enforced by his office.
