The Justice Department is suing the Commonwealth of Virginia and its Department of State Police over its ban on so-called “assault firearms.”
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and challenges its newly-passed law making it a Class One misdemeanor for any person to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, or transfer an “assault firearm” in the state. It also prohibits anyone from selling this type of gun for money, goods, or services.
The definition of “assault firearm” under the Virginia Code includes AR-15 style rifles as well as others that are commonly owned.
The lawsuit opens by referring to the state’s history of protecting the Second Amendment and accuses the state legislature of contradicting that history with its new law.
The Justice Department alleges that the law violates the Second Amendment rights of Virginians who wish to buy or sell these rifles. It also delves into the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Bruen v. New York Rifle & Pistol Association to show that the law is unconstitutional.
"When the Second Amendment's plain text covers an individual's conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation,” the lawsuit argues, referring to a requirement that gun laws must meet to remain in place under the Bruen ruling.
Y'all! @AAGDhillon just sued the state of Virginia over their gun ban!!! pic.twitter.com/TZGREVK7Uk
— Hannah Hill (@hannahhill_sc) July 1, 2026
The Justice Department notes that “As of 2021, there were at least twenty-eight million AR-style semiautomatic rifles in circulation” and that these weapons “are common for lawful purposes.”
Since state police are tasked with enforcing the criminal penalties that come with the law, the Justice Department contends that this practice violates constitutional rights under a federal statute that determined, "It shall be unlawful for any governmental authority, or any agent thereof, or any person acting on behalf of a governmental authority, to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers ... that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States."
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The complaint concludes by asking the court for a ruling that would protect Virginians’ Second Amendment rights.
This isn’t the only area where this type of battle is taking place. The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear two challenges to assault weapons bans. This means it will decide whether laws barring the sale, transfer, and possession of AR-15-style rifles and similar firearms violate the Second Amendment.
This could mean that overreaching laws passed in states like Virginia, Illinois, New York, California, and others could all become a thing of a past depending on how the Supreme Court rules.
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