The simplest solution to avoiding issues with a ban on so-called assault weapons is simply not to ban them. They’re not commonly used in crimes, and as Virginia Tech showed us, you can kill a lot of people in a gun-free zone without an AR-15. Still, some states want to do it, including the aforementioned Virginia. Only the state ran face-first into a wall: a statewide injunction that halted enforcement of the ban.
Now, there’s a problem.
The court has issued a ruling, but no one really knows what to do because no one wants to be the test case only to find out they’re wrong. There’s confusion.
The legal battle over Virginia’s assault weapons ban is on hold for now as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a similar case, leaving gun retailers and customers trying to keep up with what is and isn’t legal.
The Virginia attorney general’s office announced Friday that the legal challenge to the state’s assault weapons ban has been stayed while the Supreme Court considers broader challenges to assault weapons restrictions.
For gun retailers, the uncertainty has made keeping up with the law more difficult.
TJ Smith, manager at Point Blank Gun Shop, said the store has put certain firearms back on its shelves while the legal challenge plays out.
“They’re back on the wall now. We have ARs and stuff back on the shelf, high-capacity handguns back in the case.”
Smith said employees have spent significant time researching changes to Virginia’s gun laws so they can answer customers’ questions.
“We have to do a lot of research, a lot of nighttime study and stuff like that.”
A lot of customers call Smith up, confused.
I can understand why, too. The whole mess is less than clear, and it seems to be fluid.
Hopefully the Supreme Court will clear this up soon enough, but the problem is that tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough, and they haven’t even heard arguments yet. We’ve got a wait ahead of us, and while we wait, states like Virginia are trying this kind of thing.
Luckily, the word seems to be that the confusion is unnecessary, that the law will not be enforced until the Supreme Court rules on it, and since I think we all know how that one’s going to go, modern sporting rifles are here to stay in the Old Dominion State.
Which is for the best, because while I offered to babysit any of Cam’s guns that he needed to get out of state, it’s better that he gets to keep and enjoy them as the good Lord and Eugene Stoner intended.
The state could have easily avoided the confusion. All statewide officials needed to do was stick to their campaign promises to try to address affordability instead of focusing on gun control from day one. They failed to do that, and now it’s blowing up in their faces in a slow-motion explosion that’s glorious to behold.
If you’re in Virginia, go forth. Buy guns. If your dealer isn’t comfortable doing it, go elsewhere. I don’t that will be much of a problem, though.
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