Judge F. Patrick Yeatts confirmed Wednesday that his October 2025 permanent injunction against Virginia's universal background check law remains fully in force, delivering a courtroom setback to the Spanberger administration and Attorney General Jay Jones after the state attempted to resurrect the private-transfer requirement through new legislation. Speaking from the bench after a hearing in Harrisonburg, Yeatts told the attorney general's office directly that any future attempt to enforce background checks on private firearm transfers will be treated as contempt of court, according to Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave, who was present at the hearing. Bearing Arms first reported the outcome.

The confrontation traces to Virginia's 2020 law requiring background checks on private firearm transfers, which Yeatts struck down as unconstitutional in October 2025. After finding the age-related portion of the law could not be severed to salvage the rest, the judge voided the entire statute and issued a permanent injunction against enforcement. The Spanberger administration and Attorney General Jones then maneuvered around that order by pushing House Bill 1525 through the 2026 legislative session. Democrats framed HB 1525 as creating a new legal basis for checks by tying the mandate to a fresh restriction on handgun possession for residents under 21, arguing the restructured law was legally distinct from what the court had blocked. Virginia State Police resumed processing private-transfer background checks in late May on that theory, and the Gun Owners of America and VCDL responded by moving for contempt.

Yeatts declined to hold the Virginia State Police superintendent in contempt, appearing to give state officials some credit for arguing in good faith that HB 1525 had altered the legal terrain. But he was unambiguous that the argument had not succeeded: the October 2025 injunction has not been dissolved, it remains binding on state officials, and Van Cleave reported that Yeatts warned the attorney general's office that the next enforcement attempt will produce a contempt citation without the possibility of further argument on the threshold question.

For Virginia gun owners who want to conduct private sales, the practical effect is immediate. The state has no current authority to require checks on those transactions. An appeal by the attorney general — which Jones has signaled he intends to pursue — would not automatically stay the injunction; the requirement remains blocked unless a reviewing court specifically orders otherwise during the appeal.

The Gun Owners of America called the ruling a vindication of its position that HB 1525 did not supersede the October 2025 order. The case has drawn broader attention as a test of whether a state legislature can nullify a court injunction by repackaging a banned policy with new statutory scaffolding. Yeatts' answer, at least at the trial-court level, is that it cannot.

Virginia's parallel July 1 fight over the assault firearms ban is advancing on a separate track in both federal and state courts, with the NRA, SAF, FPC, and NSSF all maintaining active challenges ahead of the effective date. Wednesday's background check ruling adds to a growing record of Virginia's 2026 gun-control agenda encountering judicial resistance shortly after clearing the legislature.