LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Bethany Harrison in a letter to Chief Kenneth Edwards of the Lynchburg Police Department, said that her office would not enforce SB 749/HB 217, the “Assault Weapons Ban,” and SB 727/HB 1524, the “Public Carry Ban”.
In the letter, Harrison said it is her opinion that the laws are “unconstitutional”. You can read Harrison’s full letter here:
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Chief Edwards,
I write to make my position clear on this legislation that will go into effect July 1, 2026. My
office will not enforce these laws as it is my opinion they are unconstitutional based on the
United States Supreme Court’s rulings in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v.
Bruen, 567 U.S. 1 (2022), District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and U.S. v.
Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1934). Constitutional challenges to these bills have already been filed. I
expect that no matter the ruling of our state courts, these challenges will be appealed to the
United States Supreme Court.
There is precedent for non-enforcement of Virginia statutes that are under judicial review based
on legal challenges as we saw with the games of skill law. Virginia Code Sec. 40.1-103, the child
endangerment statute, has language in it that was ruled to be unconstitutional and is not enforced
even though the language remains in the statute. Finally, under Virginia Code Sec. 15.2-1627,
the prosecution of misdemeanor offenses is entirely within the discretion of the
Commonwealth’s Attorney. The Virginia Supreme Court recognizes that it is a function of the
Commonwealth Attorney to exercise our discretion in the choice of criminal charges to pursue:
“It is well established that the choice of offenses for which a criminal defendant will be charged
is within the discretion of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.” In re Horan, 271 Va. 258 (2006)
citing Barrett v. Commonwealth, 268 Va. 170, 178, 597 S.E.2d 104, 107–08
(2004) (quoting Kauffmann v. Commonwealth, 8 Va.App. 400, 410, 382 S.E.2d 279, 284
(1989)).
We will continue to enforce the laws in place to hold offenders accountable for their criminal
acts no matter the weapon type used. We regularly prosecute offenders by seeking mandatory
minimum and enhanced sentences for using weapons to commit crimes. The same legislators
who voted for these bills to criminalize citizens for mere possession of a firearm seek to take
away these enhanced punishments for our most violent and egregious offenses when the firearm
is used to perpetrate the offense (HB 863). This leads me to believe that the passage of these
laws is not about public safety but instead to further an ideology that fails to address the
underlying reasons why a person would pick up a weapon and use it to harm others. Until we
address those issues, we will continue to see offenders use any weapon at his or her disposal to
hurt others. Our law-abiding citizens should not be left defenseless against those would do them
harm. That is what this legislation will accomplish.
Bethany Harrison