The Second Amendment’s rights might be spelled out in English, but many on the left continue to insist that America’s founders didn’t really want ordinary citizens to walk around carrying guns.
Fortunately, the court system continues to uphold key gun rights in many of these cases, and others are settled when private groups get involved.
Two such organizations teamed up to push back against a “gun-free zone” ordinance passed in Winchester, Virginia.
As the Daily Caller reported, the latest update in that case looks like vindication for gun owners in the town:
Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) and the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) sued the city in 2024 over a November 2022 ordinance that prohibited carrying firearms on city property. The pro-Second Amendment groups obtained an injunction on June 11, 2024, barring Winchester from enforcing the ordinance.
“Sure, so we almost immediately got an injunction, so that was in place for quite a while, for over a year,” Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “So for over a year they’ve not been able to enforce that ban and the trial, moved forward with discovery, etc., and in fact, we were getting close to where it was time to depose the Winchester police chief, but before we could get to that, I think, Winchester knew ultimately they saw the handwriting on the wall, and so they repealed their ordinance.”
The city council repealed the ordinance on May 12, according to the order dismissing the case as moot.
“I think the judge did the right thing and that is, to throw it out for because now it’s moot, you know, they’ve repealed their ordinance and, so now there’s no more ban on in the city parking garages,” Pratt told the DCNF.
News of the progress drew some attention on social media:
Parking garages? I know the Democrat Leftists hate women, and want them conveyor-fed to criminals… but… *parking garages*?!
— KenWNichols (@KenWNichols1) May 27, 2026
The irony here is that the only reason Virginia even ratified the constitution in 1788 is because Madison promised to add the Bill of Rights (including the 2A).
Patrick Henry and George Mason insisted that the right of the people to keep and bear arms be codified.
Even after…
— Jason Griffin (@griffin_jason) May 28, 2026
Local resident…Thank you!!
— Tazzy (@TazzyLily) May 27, 2026
Of course, some wondered if the victory would hold up in the long run:
Is there anything stopping them from just making it law again after lawsuit is moot?
— Mr Dill (@MisturDill) May 27, 2026
As DC News Now reported in 2021, the leftist proponents of this gun ban found a way to link the January 6 protest of that same year to the supposed need to strip residents of their constitutional rights:
The ban extends to city government buildings as well as public parks, recreation, and community center’s owned or operated by the city. City Council President, Mayor John David Smith Jr., says a major reason for voting to approve the ordinance was after consideration of several violent incidents on federally and locally owned land and buildings, including the capitol riots in January.
“We aren’t taking away anybody’s rights to bear arms or anything like that, but we just want to make sure that things are done properly and appropriately,” said Mayor Smith.
Elsewhere across Virginia, other anti-gun measures are facing their own scrutiny:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!