VINTON, Va. – A Vinton gun store says Virginia’s new assault weapons ban has sharply reduced its inventory and sales, even as the law remains tied up in court.
The assault weapons ban took effect Wednesday, prohibiting the sale of many semiautomatic firearms and certain firearm accessories that meet the state’s definition of an assault weapon. Although the law is currently the subject of ongoing litigation, retailers say they have stopped selling affected products because they could face legal liability if the ban ultimately remains in effect.
“We’re a day and a half in, and it’s definitely slowed down quite a bit from what it was the last couple weeks,” said James Sprouse, gun manager at Ginger Mafia Tactical…