U.S. LAWSHIELD® AND VIRGINIA CITIZENS DEFENSE LEAGUE FILE JOINT LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY OF WINCHESTER, VA
U.S. LawShield®, the leader in the Legal Defense for Self-Defense industry, has recently filed a joint lawsuit with the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) against the City of Winchester, Virginia for violating articles of the Constitution of Virginia.
“Our mission is based on preserving and protecting our members’ Constitutional right to bear arms—particularly in order to defend themselves and their loved ones,” says Randy Macchi, COO and General Counsel for U.S. LawShield. “We have filed this lawsuit to protect the rights of our 10,000+ members in Virginia and to stop the unconstitutional infringement of those rights. U.S. LawShield and the VCDL are requesting that temporary and permanent injunctions be filed against recent implementations of city and state codes.”
Currently, there is no Virginia statute that prohibits a person from openly carrying a firearm. Virginia code does state that a person is prohibited from carrying a concealed handgun in public unless that person is issued a Concealed Handgun Permit. Virginia, like many other states, has what is known as “preemption” laws, which prevent localities from creating a patchwork of gun laws across the Commonwealth that are difficult or burdensome for otherwise law-abiding gun owners to navigate. Recent city ordinances in Winchester and several other Virginia jurisdictions have begun to implement these types of firearms restrictions.
The lawsuit states that the City of Winchester has violated the following articles of the Constitution of Virginia:
- Article I, Section 13 – the right to keep and bear arms
- Article I, Section 11 – due process of law
- Article 1, Section 12 – freedom of speech, right to assemble and petition
- Article 1, Section 10 – general warrants of search or seizure prohibited
The plaintiffs have requested temporary and permanent injunctions against the above violations. U.S. LawShield will provide updates as the case progresses.
Other gun rights advocacy groups have also joined the lawsuit including Gun Owners of America, Inc. and the Gun Owners Foundation.
About Virginia Citizens Defense League
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) was founded in October 1994. VCDL is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to advancing the fundamental human right of all Virginians to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I Section 13 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
About U.S. LawShield
Since 2009, the mission of U.S. LawShield remains unchanged. We believe in Preserving Freedom for Good™ by educating our 690,000 members in self-defense law, empowering them to handle critical, life-threatening situations with confidence, protecting them from potential injustices in the legal system after acts of self-defense; and challenging the status quo regarding the affordability of legal defense. Our higher purpose is to create a united community of responsible individuals who believe in liberty and the inalienable right of self-defense.
For more information on U.S. LawShield, visit the website at www.uslawshield.com.
