Virginia State Police Resume Background Checks in Violation of Court Order – Judge Reaffirms Order
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia State Police resumed conducting background checks for private firearm sales on the afternoon of May 27, 2026, despite a permanent injunction issued by the Lynchburg Circuit Court in October 2025 that barred the agency from enforcing the state’s universal background check law.
The agency acted on advice from the attorney general’s office that the newly enacted HB 1525 (signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger on April 22) superseded the 2020 law and rendered the court order moot.
Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave stated, “They were given an order. Just because they changed the law doesn’t mean that that stay was dropped. You’ve got separation of powers in America and the General Assembly can’t override the courts. I’ve never seen anything like this happen before, where they openly defy a judge’s order.”
On Friday, June 5, Judge F. Patrick Yeatts reaffirmed that order and denied a dissolution motion by the state.
Growing Number of Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorneys Will Not Enforce Gun Control
Last week, a handful of Virginia’s 120 total commonwealth’s attorneys announced they will not enforce unconstitutional laws in the context of Virginia’s new gun control laws. That number continues to climb, with now a total of at least 15 who have made similar announcements, according to the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
One of the most recent to embrace the Constitution, Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins Jr. stated, “After careful review of the legislation and existing Supreme Court precedent, I find the assault weapon ban signed by the Governor on May 15, 2026 unconstitutional – and as a result, unenforceable. My office will not support criminal charges resulting solely from technical violations of the unconstitutional assault weapon ban.”
Local Virginia communities began fighting Spanberger and the Virginia assembly’s gun-control agenda as early as February of 2026, when dozens of municipalities passed legislation declaring themselves to be Second Amendment sanctuaries.
