A Virginia court already declared the state’s universal background check law unconstitutional and handed down a permanent injunction last fall.
Virginia State Police started enforcing it again anyway.
So gun-rights groups went back to court. On May 28, 2026, Gun Owners Foundation and the Virginia Citizens Defense League asked a Virginia court to hold the state in contempt.
Their argument is simple. A new statute does not get to overrule a standing court order just because the legislature wishes it so.
🚨BREAKING🚨
GOA along with @VCDL_ORG and @GunFoundation filed a motion against Virginia for violating a court order which previously halted universal background checks in the state.
Gov. Spanberger and AG Jay Jones think they're above the law. They're not.
See you in court! pic.twitter.com/ElfktKUFHA
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) May 28, 2026
The Daily Caller laid out the timeline that got Virginia here, including the attorney general’s office confirmation and State Police explanation.
Gun Owners Foundation and the Virginia Citizens Defense League asked a Virginia court Thursday to hold the state in contempt after Virginia State Police resumed enforcement of universal background checks for private gun sales despite a permanent injunction.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed HB 1525 into law on April 22, 2026 after amendments directed Virginia State Police to enforce the law blocked by the injunction and added an emergency provision. The Circuit Court for the City of Lynchburg had issued a permanent injunction in October 2025 after declaring the universal background check unconstitutional.
Attorney General Jay Jones’ office confirmed to attorneys for the gun-rights groups that Virginia State Police had resumed conducting background checks under the newly enacted statute. A State Police spokesperson said the agency reinstated private sale background checks after receiving word from the attorney general’s office that the new law superseded the injunction.
That is the collision at the center of the case. Gun-rights groups say the state was already under a clear court order, while Virginia officials appear to be treating a newly signed statute as permission to turn enforcement back on.
That is the whole crux of the fight. The state’s position is that a fresh bill cancels out a judge’s ruling.
The gun-rights groups say that is not how any of this works.
The motion for rule to show cause spells out the legal problem for Richmond.
The motion argues the General Assembly, the governor, the defendant, and the attorney general cannot enforce Section 18.2-308.2:5 in the face of a permanent injunction simply because a new law says they can.
It also argues the emergency effective date is a nullity because HB 1525 did not pass by the required four-fifths majority. The filing asks the court to order officials to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for ignoring the injunction.
ADVERTISEMENTThe filing frames the dispute as bigger than one background-check statute. If state officials can sidestep an injunction by passing a new law that says enforcement may continue, then court orders become suggestions whenever the political branches dislike the result.
That is why the requested remedy matters. The motion asks the court to force an explanation from the officials involved and to address whether Virginia’s renewed enforcement violated the permanent injunction already on the books.
The vote math backs up that point. Daily Caller reported the amended bill passed 21-18 in the Senate and 63-36 in the House.
Both numbers fall well short of the four-fifths emergency threshold cited by VCDL President Phillip Van Cleave. No 80 percent supermajority, no valid emergency clause.
The contempt fight is only half the story unfolding in Virginia right now.
VCDL says local prosecutors are increasingly unwilling to enforce the state’s new gun restrictions. Van Cleave has been keeping count.
His latest tally points to Appomattox County, where he says Commonwealth Attorney Leslie M. Fleet has now made eight.
And now there are EIGHT! Appomattox County Commonwealth Attorney, Leslie M. Fleet, has issued this statement (be sure to read the top part):https://t.co/qexBkvI7Aw
— Philip Van Cleave VCDL (@VCDL_ORG) May 28, 2026
That resistance matters because state mandates only go so far without the local officials who actually file charges. When commonwealth attorneys decline, the law on paper becomes a lot quieter on the ground.
Virginia Democrats wrote a new statute and flipped enforcement back on. Now they have to answer to a court that already told them the policy was unconstitutional, and to a growing list of prosecutors who want no part of it.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
