05/29/2026
And the madness continues... If your county has not organized to become a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary help organize. VCDL is a great resource for this. It does have legal bearing. It shows the will of the people.
This will get VERY ugly if a Sheriff is removed or funding is cut.
From Scannerfood:
(Facebook was not allowing shares)
Can Virginia Governor Spanberger Remove Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police that refuse to enforce new fi****ms laws?
Under Virginia law § 24.2-233, the process for removal of elected and certain appointed officers by courts is defined.
Upon petition, a circuit court may remove from office any elected officer or officer who has been appointed to fill an elective office, residing within the jurisdiction of the court:
1. For neglect of a clear, ministerial duty of the office, misuse of the office, or incompetence in the performance of the duties of the office when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office.
Locally, Multiple Sheriff’s were uninvited to a local public safety security summit held by the Governor in Abingdon, multiple counties have declared 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Status, and most recently, the Smyth County Commonwealth Attorney, Bucky Blevins proclaimed the new laws are unconstitutional.
Local attorneys have stated that the sanctuary provisions hold no weight and law enforcement that fail to enforce the new laws will face decertification or even arrest for Dereliction of Duty (§ 15.2-1708) . While similar situations were presented in 2020 under then Governor Northam, the presence of a pandemic likely redirected priorities, additionally democrats failed to secure majority votes for most fi****ms legislation then. With nearly perfect partisan support shown in recent legislation it’s believed the threat of governmental discourse could materialize.
While a circuit judge would have to make the injunction to remove a Sheriff or Chief, the state’s late refusal to honor other Virginia Circuit judges orders alludes that any action would likely be more symbolic vs materially enforceable. While § 24.2-233 gives options, most elected officials are protected from removal unless specific steps are followed. Removing state funding for localities that refuse to abide by the policies of the governor are likely the most viable and plausible actions that may be taken. Another strategy reserved legitimately for civil unrest, involves deputizing local law enforcement to follow orders of the governor and enforce said laws, this could subject non-elected law enforcement officers to arrest for non-compliance (§ 18.2-410 )