Justice Department sues Virginia, California over gun laws

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it had filed lawsuits against two states for what the DOJ alleged are "unconstitutional" restrictions on sales of certain types of guns. In Virginia, the DOJ targeted a law that banned the sale of automatic weapons. In California, the DOJ is suing over a newly-enacted law that restricts the sale of some firearms with a trigger that could be modified into a " machinegun-convertible pistol." The California law went into effect on July 1. In a statement, acting U.S. attorney general saying "the Constitution is not a suggestion" and that "the Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans." The DOJ said its Virginia suit — which is against both the state and the state police — alleges that a new law "unconstitutionally bans the purchase and sale of ordinary semi-automatic rifles owned by millions of Americans." "The Virginia law makes the commercial purchase of AR-15-style rifles a crime," the DOJ said in a news release. "The AR-15 rifle is the most popular rifle in America. …