Gun Control

Local Officials Vow To Shield the Public from Virginia's Authoritarian New Gun Laws

A new chapter in the never-ending battle between centralized power and local control.

J.D. Tuccille | 6.29.2026 4:00 AM

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Everybody loves local control when they run towns and counties and their opponents hold federal or state offices. It works in reverse, too, with presidents and governors denouncing rebellious officials who won't follow dictates from the state or federal capital.

So it is in Virginia, where Democrats who dominate the state government are upset that local prosecutors and police decline to enforce new restrictive gun laws they justifiably view as unconstitutional and dangerous to their constituents' liberty.

You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.'s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty.

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Officials Refuse To Enforce 'Obviously Unconstitutional' Gun Ban

"The assault weapons ban and the public carry ban are obviously unconstitutional," Spotsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney Ryan Mehaffey, a Republican, informed 7News earlier this month. "And it's incumbent upon constitutional officers in Virginia to come out and clearly state that they cannot be lawfully enforced, and to defend the people's rights to keep and bear arms."

Mehaffey has been joined by prosecutors from at least 15 other jurisdictions. On June 5, Hanover County Sheriff Gregory Six announced that he "shares many of the concerns that have been expressed regarding the constitutional implications of these laws" and that "the Hanover County Sheriff's Office will exercise its lawful........

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