Carrying Loaded Firearms in Public Areas

Carrying a loaded firearm in certain public places in Virginia without a concealed carry permit is a crime under Va. Code §18.2-287.4. It is a Class 1 misdemeanor and is punished with up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500.
The statute bans carrying the following firearms on or about the offender’s person: loaded semi-automatic center-fire rifles 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 silencer or equipped with a folding stock. The places in which this ban applies 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.
Carrying Loaded Firearms in Public Places in Virginia
carrying loaded firearm in public areas in Virginia

Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public Areas in Virginia Is a Crime

To convict an offender of this crime, the Commonwealth must prove that a person:

  • carried
  • on or about his person
  • a firearm
    •  including
      • a rifle or pistol that is:
        • semi-automatic
        • center-fire, and
          • is provided by the manufacturer with a magazine of greater than 20 rounds of ammunition, or
          • is designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer, or
          • is equipped with a folding stock
      • a shotgun
        • with a magazine holding more than seven rounds of ammunition
  • that is loaded
  • in a public place or a place open to the public including a public street, road, alley, sidewalk, rights-of-way, or any public park or any other place of whatever nature
  • in the cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach, or the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, or Prince William
Exceptions to the Ban on Carrying Loaded Firearms in Public in Virginia
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
  • any person 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)
  • and 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 offenses involving carrying firearms in Virginia, click here.

For more general information on offenses 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.

 

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