Virginia Judge Expands Preliminary Injunction in Assault Weapons / Magazine Bans Case

LANCASTER, Va. — On Nov. 2, Virginia Circuit Judge John S. Martin issued a three-page order expanding the preliminary injunction against the state’s so-called assault weapons and magazine ban, representing yet another procedural victory against the historical disarmament measure.

The expanded injunction enjoins (or prevents) the “Commonwealth of Virginia, its agencies and employees” from enforcing the challenged measure, in a lawsuit known as Crump v. Katz.

“This is a major victory for Virginia gun owners,” said Gun Owners Foundation in a press statement announcing the original injunction. They added, “This injunction prevents the Virginia State Police from enforcing the challenged gun and magazine bans while our case continues through the court system. As it currently stands, the temporary injunction extends the enforcement date from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.”

The order caveats that the expanded injunction is subject to the same terms and timeframe as the previous injunction, issued on June 30, along with a further order entered September 10, and denies the other aspects of the plaintiffs’ motion.

The expansion came on the plaintiffs’ second motion to enlarge the injunction, which Martin heard on October 20. Virginia’s lawyers, Assistant Attorneys General Calvin C. Brown and Pebbles I. Burgess, signed the order “SEEN AND OBJECTED TO” with respect to the expansion, and “AGREED” with respect to the relief the judge denied.

Spanberger signed the highly contested Senate Bill 749 on Thursday, May 14, banning commonly owned semi-automatic firearms and magazines with capacities greater than 15 rounds. The contentious measure effectively disarms law-abiding Virginians, outlawing the country’s most popular rifle, the AR-15, and many other similar firearms.

The ban went into effect on July 1, 2026. The measure was challenged in a lawsuit filed on June 16 by Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the Virginia Citizens Defense Foundation, and gun writer John Crump. The court issued the preliminary injunction from the bench on June 25.

In a show of solidarity with gun owners, and in support of their oaths to the Constitution, many sheriffs and prosecutors vowed not to uphold the unconstitutional measure, to which Democrats vowed payback.

The limitations of the original injunction, which applied to defendant Jeffrey Katz and the Virginia State Police, meant that the local police and commonwealth’s attorneys could still enforce the ban. The revised injunction expands protections against all Virginia state agencies, and is subject to the same timeframe, through December 31, or until a final ruling.

The challenge to the Virginia assault weapons ban takes place against the backdrop of a national conversation on semi-automatic rifles, including a pending case before the Supreme Court known as Viramontes, that will address the first-ever AR-15-specific case, with oral arguments taking place in early December.