Virginia Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Permit to Purchase | No | No |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. Virginia only honors permits or licenses of individuals who are 21 years of age or over. Wisconsin honors Virginia non-resident permits only. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Castle Doctrine | No Law |
No-Net Loss | No Legislation |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Laws | Shall Issue |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | Outright Recognition |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Purchase and Possession
No state permit is required to otherwise purchase or possess a rifle, shotgun or handgun. Virginia residents may purchase firearms from any licensed Federal Firearms Licensee, even if they are out of state. MORE |
Carrying
The open carrying of a handgun in Virginia is lawful. MORE |
Antiques and Replicas
Antique firearm means any firearm manufactured in or before 1898 and any replica of such a firearm if such a replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional center-fire ammunition or uses rimfire or conventional center-fire ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the U.S. and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. This exception applies only to sales by federally licensed gun dealers. The restrictions on concealed carrying and possession by prohibited persons otherwise apply. |
Machine Guns
A machine gun is defined as a weapon that shoots or is designed to shoot, automatically without manual reloading more than one shot by a single function of the trigger. MORE |
"Sawed Off" Shotguns and Rifles
A “sawed-off” shotgun is defined as any weapon loaded or unloaded, originally designed as a shoulder weapon, utilizing a self-contained cartridge from which a number of ball shot pellets or projectiles may be fired simultaneously from a smooth or rifled bore by a single function of the firing device and which has a barrel length of less than 18 inches for smooth bore weapons and 16 inches for rifled weapons. Weapons of less than .225 caliber shall not be included. MORE |
Preemption
No locality shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution or motion, as permitted by § 15.2-1425, and no agent of such locality shall take any administrative action, governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage or transporting of firearms, ammunition, MORE |
Range Protection
No local ordinance regulating any noise shall subject a sports shooting range to noise control standards more stringent than those in effect at its effective date. The operation or use of a sports shooting range shall not be enjoined on the basis of noise. MORE |
Miscellaneous
It is unlawful to discharge a firearm in or across any road, or right-of-way, except at an approved firing range. MORE |
Footnote
1. “Assault firearm” means any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol which is equipped with a magazine which will hold more than twenty rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock. |
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) has questioned the judgment of a gun-rights group in deciding to raffle off ...
Monday, May 14, 2007
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine defends a new Virginia gun-rights law, saying it is designed to keep "rogue folks" ...
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell has warned New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg about a new law ...
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Virginia is preparing to impose a law designed to stop out-of-state politicians from funneling unlimited amounts of money ...
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The nation needs to look harder at mental health policy issues in the wake of the Virginia Tech ...
Friday, April 27, 2007
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine says the Virginia Tech massacre might boost efforts to require background checks on private ...
Thursday, April 26, 2007
In the wake of an event such as Virginia Tech, our system moves heaven and earth to figure ...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The 32 murders at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shocked the nation, but what steps can be ...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he is considering an executive order to make sure that ...
Friday, April 20, 2007
A judge`s ruling on Cho Seung-Hui`s mental health should have barred him from purchasing the handguns he used ...