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Lawsuit seeks to block Virginia's gun background checks law

Posted at 12:14 PM, Jun 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-24 12:14:11-04

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Gun rights activists have filed a lawsuit challenging a new Virginia law that will expand background checks for gun buyers.

The law is set to go into effect July 1. It is one of seven gun control measures passed by the General Assembly this year.

It requires a background check for any firearm sale, even between private individuals.

The lawsuit filed Monday by the Virginia Citizens Defense League and five other plaintiffs alleges the law violates residents’ constitutional rights by making them subject to background checks.

Plaintiffs allege the new law is “a grossly overreaching infringement on the right of Virginians to keep and bear arms.”

The lawsuit comes more than a week after gun groups filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the newly reinstated one-handgun-a-month law.

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