Carrying Weapons Offenses

Although Virginia is an open carry state, it is still against the law to carry firearms and other weapons into certain places in the Commonwealth-even if a person has a concealed handgun permit. These places, discussed below, include places of religious worship, courthouses, Capitol Square, buildings owned or leased by the Commonwealth, any office where employees of the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties, airport terminals, and public places (with a loaded firearm).

For more information on carrying weapons offenses in Virginia, see below.

Carrying Weapons Offenses in Virginia

Virginia law bans carrying weapons in many different places. The penalties vary depending on the location.

Carrying a Dangerous Weapon into a Place of Religious Worship
carrying weapons offenses in Virginia

Carrying Weapons Offenses in Virginia are Punished with Jail Time and Fines

It is a Class 4 misdemeanor to carry a dangerous weapon to a place of religious worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held in Virginia (Va. Code §18.2-283). The prohibited weapons include guns, pistols, bowie knives, daggers or other dangerous weapons. This offense is punished with a fine up to $250.

For more information on carrying a dangerous weapon to a place of religious worship in Virginia under Va. Code §18.2-283, click here.

Carrying a Weapon into a Courthouse

Carrying a weapon into a courthouse in Virginia is a Class 1 misdemeanor. It is punished with up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500.

The prohibited weapons include guns or other weapons designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; frames, receivers, mufflers, silencers, missiles, projectiles, or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon; or other dangerous weapons, including explosives and stun weapons; pistols, revolvers, or other weapons designed or intended to propel a missile of any kind by action of an explosion of any combustible material; a dirk, bowie knife, stiletto knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, sling bow, spring stick, metal knucks, blackjacks, any flailing instrument consisting of two or more rigid parts connected in such a manner as to allow them to swing freely, including nun chahka, nun chucks, nunchaku, shuriken, or fighting chain; any disc, of whatever configuration, having at least two points or pointed blades which is designed to be thrown or propelled and which may be known as a throwing star or oriental dart; or any weapon of like kind.

For more information on Carrying a Weapon into a Courthouse in Virginia under Va. Code §18.2-283.1, click here. For more information on Carrying a Firearm into a Courthouse in Virginia under Va. Code §18.2-283.1, click here.

Carrying a Firearm or Explosive in or Near Capitol Square

Carrying a firearm or explosive material in Capitol Square in Virginia is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punished with up to 12 months in jail, a fine of $2,500, and seizure and forfeiture of the firearm or explosive material at issue. Va. Code §18.2-283.2

For more information on Carrying a Firearm or Explosive Material in or near Capitol Square in Virginia , click here.

Carrying a Firearm or Explosive Material in a Building Owned or Leased by the Commonwealth

Carrying a firearm or explosive material in a building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or an agency of the Commonwealth is a Class 1 misdemeanor (Va. Code §18.2-283.2). It is punished with up to 12 months in jail, a fine up to $2,500, and seizure and forfeiture of the firearm or explosive material at issue.

For more information on Carrying a Firearm or Explosive Material in a Building Owned or Leased by the Commonwealth, click here.

Carrying a Firearm or Explosive Material in an Office of Commonwealth Employees

It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to carry a firearm or explosive material in an office where employees of the Commonwealth or any agency of the Commonwealth are regularly present for the purposes of performing their official duties. This offense is punished with up to 12 months in jail, a fine up to $2,500, and seizure and forfeiture of the firearm or explosive material at issue.

For more information on Carrying a Firearm or Explosive Material in an Office of Commonwealth Employees in Virginia under Va. Code §18.2-283.2, click here.

Carrying a Weapon in an Airport Terminal
It is a crime to possess in or transport into an air carrier airport terminal a gun or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind; a frame, receiver, muffler, silencer, missile, projectile or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon; and any other dangerous weapon, including explosives and stun weapons; and pistols, revolvers, other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile of any kind by action of an explosion of any combustible material, dirk, bowie knife, stiletto knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, sling bow, spring stick, metal knucks, blackjacks, any flailing instrument consisting of two or more rigid parts connected in such a manner as to allow them to swing freely, which may be known as:, a nun chahka, nun chuck, nunchaku, shuriken, or fighting chain; any disc, of whatever configuration, having at least two points or pointed blades which is designed to be thrown or propelled and which may be known as a throwing star or oriental dart, or any weapon of like kind.
There are exceptions to this crime for certain law-enforcement officers and passengers who are transporting a lawful firearm, weapon or ammunition into or our of an airport terminal for the sole purposes of presenting a firearm, weapon, or ammunition to U.S. Customs agents in advance of an international flight to comply with federal law, checking a firearm, weapon, or ammunition with luggage, or retrieving a firearm, weapon, or ammunition from the baggage claim area.
This offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor and is punished with up to 12 months in jail, a fine up to $2,500, and the weapon at issues will be seized and forfeited (Va. Code §18.2-287.01).

For information on the exceptions to the ban on carrying a weapon in an airport terminal in Virginia, click here.
For information on the exceptions to the ban on carrying a gun in an airport terminal in Virginia, click here.
For information on the exceptions to the ban on carrying a firearm in an airport terminal in Virginia, click here.
For more information on Carrying a Weapon in an Airport Terminal in Virginia, click here.
For more information on Carrying a Gun in an Airport Terminal in Virginia, click here.
For information on Carrying a Firearm in an Airport Terminal in Virginia, click here.
Carrying a Loaded Firearm in a Public Place
It is a misdemeanor to carry a loaded firearm in certain public places in Virginia under Va. Code §18.2-287.4 without a concealed carry permit. This offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punished with up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500. Specifically, the statute bans carrying the following firearms on or about the offender’s person: loaded semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistols that expel single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and are equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or are designed by the manufacture to accommodate a silences or equipped with a folding stock. These places include any public streets, roads, alleys, sidewalks, public rights-of-way, or any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public in the cities of: Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach, or the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, and Prince William.

Law-Enforcement Officers are Exempt from the Ban on Carrying Loaded Firearms in Public

There are exceptions to this crime, including for:

  • law-enforcement officers and retired law-enforcement officers
  • licensed security guards
  • military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties
  • any person having a valid concealed handgun permit or to any person actually engaged in lawful hunting or lawful recreational shooting activities at an established shooting range or shooting contest
  • people in their place of abode or their home’s curtilage
  • a person in his or her own place of business
  • a person who is at or traveling to or from an established shooting range (as long as the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported)
  • a regularly enrolled member of a weapons collecting organization who is at or traveling to or from a bona fide weapons exhibition (as long as the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported)
  • a person carrying such weapons between his place of abode and a place of purchase or repair (as long as the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported)
  • a person engaged in lawful hunting under inclement weather conditions necessitating temporary protection of his firearm from those conditions (provided that possession of a handgun while engaged in lawful hunting shall not be construed as hunting with a handgun if the person hunting is carrying a valid concealed handgun permit)
  • an attorney for the Commonwealth or assistant attorney for the Commonwealth (or a retired or resigned attorney for the Commonwealth or assistant attorney for the Commonwealth)
  • a person who may lawfully possess a firearm and is carrying a handgun while in a personal, private motor vehicle or vessel and such handgun is secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel
  • an enrolled participant of a firearms training course who is at or traveling to or from a training location (provided that the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported)
  • a judge or justice of the Commonwealth;
  • and any of the following individuals while in the discharge of their official duties, or while in transit to or from such duties:
    • carriers of the United States mail
    • officers or guards of any state correctional institution
    • certain conservators of the peace
    • noncustodial employees of the Department of Corrections designated to carry weapons by the Director of the Department of Corrections

For more information on the exceptions for law enforcement officers carrying loaded firearms in public places in Virginia, click here.

For more information on the other individuals who are exempt from the ban on carrying loaded firearms in public places in Virginia, click here.

 

For more information on crimes involving carrying firearms in Virginia, click here.

For more information on carrying weapons other than firearms in Virginia, click here.

For more information on offenses relating to shooting and discharging firearms in Virginia, click here.

For more general information on crimes involving firearms in Virginia, click here.

For more information on what groups of people are prohibited from possessing firearms in Virginia, click here.

For more general information on firearms in Virginia, click here.

 

 

***DISCLAIMER: THE MATERIAL AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS POST, ON ANY PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE, AND ON ANY PAGES LINKED FROM THESE PAGES, ARE FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND NOT LEGAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONSULT A LICENSED ATTORNEY IN YOUR JURISDICTION BEFORE RELYING ON ANY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THESE PAGES. SENDING EMAIL TO OR VIEWING INFORMATION FROM THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP***