On Tuesday night, Lynchburg City Council voted to make the Hill City a Second Amendment Sanctuary.

RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Mark Herring issued an advisory opinion on Friday, stating that Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions passed by Virginia counties and cities have, "no legal effect.”[Complete list of Second Amendment sanctuaries in Virginia and where it’s being discussed]Second Amendment sanctuaries declare themselves exempt from new gun safety laws that the General Assembly that may be passed next year. Herring said that localities and local constitutional officers “cannot nullify state laws” and must follow gun violence prevention measures passed by the General Assembly. “When the General Assembly passes new gun safety laws they will be enforced, and they will be followed. These resolutions have no legal force, and they’re just part of an effort by the gun lobby to stoke fear,” said Attorney General Herring. “What we’re talking about are the kind of commonsense gun safety laws that Virginians voted for just a few weeks ago, like universal background checks to make sure that dangerous people aren’t buying guns.

HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. – A local state delegate is trying to help prevent Second Amendment sanctuaries from having to follow state gun laws. Delegate James Edmunds, who represents Halifax County, is bringing a new idea to the table, saying it’s a intra-state issue and localities should be able to ignore new gun laws if they want to. Four weeks ago, prior to this year’s election we had never heard of a second amendment sanctuary, but now it’s hard to look anywhere and not see something about it. Localities voting for second amendment sanctuaries are primarily rural communities, and as a now democratic controlled state government ponders new gun laws, Edmunds said that’s the rub. Delegate Edmunds plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming General Assembly session that would give Second Amendment sanctuaries immunity from any of the proposed gun laws that pass.