GOA and GOF Petition the Virginia Supreme Court for a Preliminary Ruling on Virginia’s Looming “Assault Firearms” Ban
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2026
Springfield, VA — Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), alongside Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and 2A journalist John Crump, have petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court for an urgent ruling in their lawsuit challenging Virginia’s upcoming ban on “assault firearms” and “large capacity ammunition feeding devices.” 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 July 1, 2026 effective date.
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.
Of course, constitutional rights cannot wait. 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.
Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:
“The Article I, Section 13 rights of Virginians to keep and bear arms are at stake. GOA and GOF will not sit idly by as those rights are attacked from Richmond. 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.”
GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.
-GOA-
