by Larry Chowning –
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring issued an advisory opinion on December 19 that said Second Amendment Sanctuary County resolutions passed by localities across Virginia have “no legal effect.”
Herring stated in his opinion letter to Democrat Jay Jones, Virginia’s 89th District Delegate from Norfolk, that localities and local constitutional officers (sheriffs) cannot nullify state laws and must follow potential gun violence prevention measures passed by the General Assembly.
“When the General Assembly passes new gun safety laws they will be enforced, and they will be followed,” said Herring. “These (Second Amendment) resolutions have no legal force, and they’re just part of an effort by the gun lobby to stoke fear.”
The General Assembly will reconvene in January 2020 and are expected to consider gun safety proposals introduced by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam.
“What we’re talking about are the kind of commonsense gun safety laws that Virginians voted for just a few weeks ago, like universal background checks to make sure that dangerous people aren’t buying guns,” Herring wrote in his statement. “Too many Virginians have lost their lives to guns and it is well past time that we enact these gun safety measures that will save lives and make our communities safer.
“Recurring incidents of gun violence continues to plague the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Herring wrote. “The scale of the gun violence epidemic is staggering. Over 10,000 Virginians have been killed by a gun since 2007. Virginians have also been victims of several mass shootings, including the 2019 tragedy in Virginia Beach.
“Issues related to gun safety were also a central [issue] in the legislative elections,” Herring wrote. “Following those elections, the Governor has promised . . . to enact certain gun safety measures.”
As of December 19, 94 cities and counties across Virginia approved some type of resolution to become a Second Amendment sanctuary. The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors approved a sanctuary resolution by a 3-1-1 vote on December 3.
Several surrounding counties that have adopted similar resolutions are: Lancaster, December 12; King William, November 25; Mathews, December 17; Gloucester, December 3, and Northumberland, December 12. The board of supervisors in Essex County tabled the matter until its January 14 meeting.
Middlesex County Sheriff David Bushey has stated that if “unconstitutional” laws restricting certain types of guns are adopted by the General Assembly, he will tell citizens not to bring their guns to him but instead “take them to the state police.”
