GOA Petitions Virginia Supreme Court For Preliminary Ruling On Looming Gun Ban

With the restrictive ban on common semi-automatic firearms and standard-capacity magazines set to take effect on July 1, Gun Owners of America, along with Gun Owners Foundation and Virginia Citizens Defense League, have petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court for an urgent ruling in their lawsuit challenging the law.

The petition requests that a decision be made on the plaintiffs’ pending motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in advance of the ban’s effective date, which is less than two weeks away.

The Lancaster court left gun owners with nowhere to go

This petition to Virginia’s high court comes one month after GOA’s coalition of plaintiffs filed suit in the Circuit Court for Lancaster County, in Crump v. Katz. Within days of challenging Virginia’s unconstitutional ban on commonly owned firearms and magazines, the Crump plaintiffs filed their currently pending motion to preliminarily block enforcement of the ban for the duration of their lawsuit.

However, in a disappointing move by the Lancaster court, the court indefinitely paused the Crump plaintiffs’ challenge by staying the case — taking a hearing on the Crump plaintiffs’ motion off its calendar — because the state government has filed a request to have the Crump case consolidated with other legal challenges to the ban that have been filed in other Virginia counties.

Constitutional rights don’t get to wait while courts shuffle their calendars

“Constitutional rights cannot wait,” GOA said in a news release announcing the petition filing. “That is why GOA and the Crump plaintiffs have petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel the Lancaster court to decide their motion on an emergency basis. In the alternative, the Crump plaintiffs request that the Virginia Supreme Court preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the gun ban itself.”

The petition states: “…the circuit court has failed to rule on Petitioners’ emergency motion, leaving their case indefinitely stayed and effectively shutting the courthouse doors to Petitioners. This inaction will allow the Challenged Statutes to take effect on July 1, causing irreparable harm not only to Petitioners but also to countless other Virginians.”

The court let the ban take effect by doing nothing — which GOA says isn’t legal

The petition further states: “[The] circuit court’s decision to indefinitely stay a case — in the face of an expedited motion seeking emergency relief to prevent serious and irreparable harm set to occur in less than a month — is not within the bounds of its discretion. But the circuit court … has done just that. The court has refused to consider the serious constitutional questions Petitioners raise, deciding instead to simply let the Challenged Statutes take effect through inaction, and entirely without judicial review. This inaction also denies Petitioners any ability to appeal an adverse ruling. Petitioners’ only recourse is the filing of this Petition.”

GOA: Virginians’ Second Amendment rights are under attack from Richmond

Erich Pratt, GOA senior vice president, said the right of Virginians to keep and bear arms is at stake.

“GOA and GOF will not sit idly by as those rights are attacked from Richmond,” Pratt concluded. “We hope that today’s petition to the Virginia Supreme Court will expedite a ruling on our motion for preliminary injunction, and that Virginians will remain free to purchase and carry popular firearms and magazines come July 1.”