Judge Strikes Down Virginia’s Universal Background Check Law

The circuit court judge specified the ruling was focused on particular state law and not a commentary on criminal background checks in general.

A potential buyer handles a gun that is displayed on an exhibitor’s table during the Nation’s Gun Show at Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va., on Nov. 18, 2016. Alex Wong/Getty Images

A judge for the 24th Judicial Circuit Court in Virginia struck down a law requiring background checks for all gun sales, including private transactions, in a decision filed on Oct. 29.

In an Oct. 16 letter explaining his decision, Judge, F. Patrick Yeatts cautioned that his ruling was not on the constitutionality of criminal background checks and that the law was so flawed that the only solution was to scrap it altogether.