Commonwealth Mulling Appeal to Loss in SafeSide Range Lawsuit

The Washington Post reports this morning that Attorney General Herring is considering appealing yesterday's ruling by Lynchburg Circuit Judge F. Patrick Yeatts’s that SafeSide Tactical in Lynchburg may reopen with social distancing and sanitizing guidance.

The office of Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said Monday that officials are mulling an appeal after the ruling.

“Governor Northam’s efforts to save lives and slow the spread of COVID-19 are necessary and proving to be effective, but unfortunately, the gun lobby believes the ability to shoot a gun indoors during this pandemic is worth risking further spread of the virus and making Virginia communities and families less safe,” Herring said in a statement.

What Herring did not say is that most all of those outdoor ranges that the Governor allowed to remain open are private clubs and are not open to the public like indoor ranges.  The Governor lost this one.  It will be interesting to see if he decides to just lick his wounds and hope that this is the only setback before finally lifting his "stay-a-home" order, or if he tests his luck with the Virginia Supreme Court and tries to have the injunction overturned.