Despite being removed about three weeks ago amid a murky legal situation, the popular rifles are back on sale after gun-rights activists secured a statewide injunction against the state's "assault firearms" ban. So, we have one of those activists on the show this week to update us on the legal situation. That is Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) president Philip Van Cleave.

Van Cleave said VCDL, the other gun-rights groups, and the gun industry's trade group all agree that AR-15 sales are now legal. He said VCDL believes that an injunction would be pointless if people weren't allowed to carry out the activities that are impacted. He said he's heard from many stores and individuals that they are indeed back to buying and selling ARs.

However, Van Cleave noted that not everyone has been willing to restart sales. He said there are some lingering concerns about what could happen if the injunction is overturned down the line and the law goes back into effect. Still, he argued there's little reason to think anyone would pursue people for buying or selling ARs while the law is enjoined.

He went on to argue the new AR-15 ban case at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) means Virginia's law is doomed one way or the other. He believes SCOTUS will strike down the bans, but he said that could take another year. So, VCDL is pushing forward with the state-level cases against the law, and Van Cleave said he's hoping to get a final ruling there before SCOTUS acts.

Van Cleave agreed that the Virginia Supreme Court is harder to read. But he said he's confident in VCDL's case, and noted Attorney General Jay Jones (D.) has already failed on several fronts in defending the law.

Special Guest: Philip Van Cleave.

That process is pretty unique, with Governor Abigail Spanberger (D.) having a rare ability to change bills after they've already passed. To break down how that process works and what Spanberger is trying to accomplish, we have Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) President Philip Van Cleave back on the show.

The changes pushed legislation in both directions, but Van Cleave said VCDL was very angry with the overall suggestions Spanberger made. That's because her recommendations to moderate a few gun bills were far less significant than those to double down on other restrictions. Specifically, he argued the changes Spanberger pushed for the "assault firearm" carry and sales ban were the most significant.

He said Spanberger's language change for what constitutes an "assault firearm" is confusing and could be read to be extremely expansive. He argued even if you take the most restrictive reading, the move would effectively ban the carry of the 15+ magazines the bill bans the sale of. That would be a substantial tightening of the proposed ban.

Still, Van Cleave said some of the changes Spanberger recommended will probably face at least some pushback from the Democratically-controlled legislature. For instance, her request to convert the 18-to-20-year-old handgun ban into an emergency measure that would go into effect immediately actually requires a 4/5ths vote of both houses to pass. Even her "assault firearm" ban changes could be doomed because she removed exemptions for retired and off-duty police, a powerful political force.

The legislature can only vote up and down on the overall changes in each bill, Van Cleave said. So, if they don't like one change, they have to reject them all.

Whatever makes it into law, though, Van Cleave said VCDL would challenge in court. He said the group is likely to go to state court to challenge, and he welcomes the possibility that the Department of Justice might file suit against the new gun bans in federal court.

Special Guest: Philip Van Cleave.

Stories:
-https://thereload.com/virginia-governor-sends-assault-firearms-ban-back-to-legislature-demands-expansion/
-https://thereload.com/spanberger-requests-stricter-hospital-gun-ban-from-virginia-legislature/
-https://thereload.com/federal-appeals-court-upholds-new-york-city-stun-gun-ban/
-https://thereload.com/newsletter-virginia-governor-pushes-to-further-tighten-new-gun-bans/