The Supreme Court of Virginia has denied the request to block Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order on a temporary gun ban at the state Capitol, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced Friday.
As a result, the ban on firearms on Capitol Square remains in effect.
Thursday after a judge denied the attempt by pro-gun groups to overturn the governor’s temporary ban, the plaintiffs in the case filed an appeal challenging the ruling.
Herring urged the state Supreme Court to reject the groups’ effort to overturn the temporary ban at a rally that’s expected to draw tens of thousands of activists to Richmond.
Chaos and even violence is feared at Monday’s rally after threats from militia groups. Northam’s executive order also bans weapons of any kind.
This comes days after lawmakers voted to ban firearms at the Capitol, saying the move was needed to protect public safety.
Herring argued that Northam’s executive order is necessary to prevent a repeat of what happened at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, where one woman was killed and more than 30 other people were hurt.
Three people suspected to be white supremacists, who were believed to be heading to Richmond for the gun rights rally, were arrested in Baltimore earlier in the week.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of America say the ban violates their First and Second Amendment rights.
