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Legal for me to have a handgun in the house with roommate?

Kenosis

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Recently my mother informed me that one of her friends said it was illegal for me (20 years of age) to possess a firearm in my apartment because I share it with a roommate. He is 21, and I will be 21 in August.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this matter? I searched several websites that provided gun laws and found nothing of the sort - however that does not mean it isn't true because I'm sure there are tons of laws out there that I don't know about.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 

tag

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You have to be 21 to get a concealed handgun permit. As far as I know, you can possess a firearm at age 18, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Virginia State Police website on firearms: http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms.shtm

"What is the legal age to purchase or possess a firearm?
A person must be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun from a licensed firearms dealer, you must be at least 21 years of age, pursuant to federal law. For statutory regulations concerning underage persons possessing firearms, refer to Virginia Code §18.2-308.7, possession or transportation of certain firearms by persons under the age of eighteen.
"
 

ravonaf

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If it was illegal to posses a firearm with a minor living in the same residence all of us married people with children would have been arrested a long time ago. :) Considering the roommate isn't even a minor that is a bizarre thing hear.
 

Kenosis

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Good points all around, and pretty much the same logic that I was using. And he is no criminal - moreover, he readily supports 2A rights and is going to purchase his first handgun sometime this early summer :)

I like to think it's from oogling my p226 :lol:

Thanks for the swift feedback everyone
 

nova

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HardChrome wrote:
It's comical that there are so many misconceptions about guns and laws. It seems a new "law" pops up every week.
Two years ago a friend of me said anything larger than .40 was illegal after I started talking about .45.

He knows better now. :)
 

virginiatuck

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Kenosis wrote:
Recently my mother informed me that one of her friends said it was illegal for me (20 years of age) to possess a firearm in my apartment because I share it with a roommate. He is 21, and I will be 21 in August.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this matter? I searched several websites that provided gun laws and found nothing of the sort - however that does not mean it isn't true because I'm sure there are tons of laws out there that I don't know about.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Good points all around, and pretty much the same logic that I was using. And he is no criminal - moreover, he readily supports 2A rights and is going to purchase his first handgun sometime this early summer :) I like to think it's from oogling my p226 :lol: Thanks for the swift feedback everyone
It's not illegal, but I'm sure your mother is just looking out for your safety. What're the chances that your friend who has been ogling your gun will attempt to handle it if you leave it unlocked and unattended? You don't have to do what your mother says, but you should heed her warnings.

Many property owners/managers, especially those of apartment buildings, have clauses in their leasing agreements that prohibit firearms. Archstone is an example of one that does/did. I can't and won't speak as to whether such a no-guns clause would hold up in court. I'm just saying that you may have signed a contract which states that you will not have any firearms on the property; and if you did agree to it, you should be aware of that and its potential consequences. They could probably evict you since violation of any of the terms of the agreement would probably void it. I'm not a lawyer nor have I read your lease agreement.
 

jegoodin

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virginiatuck wrote:
It's not illegal, but I'm sure your mother is just looking out for your safety. What're the chances that your friend who has been ogling your gun will attempt to handle it if you leave it unlocked and unattended? You don't have to do what your mother says, but you should heed her warnings.

Many property owners/managers, especially those of apartment buildings, have clauses in their leasing agreements that prohibit firearms. Archstone is an example of one that does/did. I can't and won't speak as to whether such a no-guns clause would hold up in court. I'm just saying that you may have signed a contract which states that you will not have any firearms on the property; and if you did agree to it, you should be aware of that and its potential consequences. They could probably evict you since violation of any of the terms of the agreement would probably void it. I'm not a lawyer nor have I read your lease agreement.
Oh my, yes, heed your Mommy's warning about that evil gun. Her friend might have some mysterious insight as to what is in your lease that wil make it illegal for you to have a gun in your apartment.

But quite frankly I think it is far more likely that her friend is a nosey busy body that had absolutely no idea when it comes to gun laws and is repeating something that one of her equaly misinformed friends told her.
 

Skeptic

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jegoodin wrote:
But quite frankly I think it is far more likely that her friend is a nosey busy body that had absolutely no idea when it comes to gun laws and is repeating something that one of her equally misinformed friends told her.
+1 on that
 

SouthernBoy

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virginiatuck wrote:
Kenosis wrote:
Recently my mother informed me that one of her friends said it was illegal for me (20 years of age) to possess a firearm in my apartment because I share it with a roommate. He is 21, and I will be 21 in August.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this matter? I searched several websites that provided gun laws and found nothing of the sort - however that does not mean it isn't true because I'm sure there are tons of laws out there that I don't know about.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Good points all around, and pretty much the same logic that I was using. And he is no criminal - moreover, he readily supports 2A rights and is going to purchase his first handgun sometime this early summer :) I like to think it's from oogling my p226 :lol: Thanks for the swift feedback everyone
It's not illegal, but I'm sure your mother is just looking out for your safety. What're the chances that your friend who has been ogling your gun will attempt to handle it if you leave it unlocked and unattended? You don't have to do what your mother says, but you should heed her warnings.

Many property owners/managers, especially those of apartment buildings, have clauses in their leasing agreements that prohibit firearms. Archstone is an example of one that does/did. I can't and won't speak as to whether such a no-guns clause would hold up in court. I'm just saying that you may have signed a contract which states that you will not have any firearms on the property; and if you did agree to it, you should be aware of that and its potential consequences. They could probably evict you since violation of any of the terms of the agreement would probably void it. I'm not a lawyer nor have I read your lease agreement.
I seem to recall reading that this is not legal in Virginia, at least in the case of apartments. Somehow I believe I read some case law on this a while back. Has to do with violating one's Constitutional rights. I don't know if this would extend to a privately owned home where the owner rents a room to a boarder.

Anyone wish to clarify this one, please?
 

ChinChin

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SouthernBoy wrote:
virginiatuck wrote:
Kenosis wrote:
Recently my mother informed me that one of her friends said it was illegal for me (20 years of age) to possess a firearm in my apartment because I share it with a roommate. He is 21, and I will be 21 in August.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this matter? I searched several websites that provided gun laws and found nothing of the sort - however that does not mean it isn't true because I'm sure there are tons of laws out there that I don't know about.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Good points all around, and pretty much the same logic that I was using. And he is no criminal - moreover, he readily supports 2A rights and is going to purchase his first handgun sometime this early summer :) I like to think it's from oogling my p226 :lol: Thanks for the swift feedback everyone
It's not illegal, but I'm sure your mother is just looking out for your safety. What're the chances that your friend who has been ogling your gun will attempt to handle it if you leave it unlocked and unattended? You don't have to do what your mother says, but you should heed her warnings.

Many property owners/managers, especially those of apartment buildings, have clauses in their leasing agreements that prohibit firearms. Archstone is an example of one that does/did. I can't and won't speak as to whether such a no-guns clause would hold up in court. I'm just saying that you may have signed a contract which states that you will not have any firearms on the property; and if you did agree to it, you should be aware of that and its potential consequences. They could probably evict you since violation of any of the terms of the agreement would probably void it. I'm not a lawyer nor have I read your lease agreement.
I seem to recall reading that this is not legal in Virginia, at least in the case of apartments. Somehow I believe I read some case law on this a while back. Has to do with violating one's Constitutional rights. I don't know if this would extend to a privately owned home where the owner rents a room to a boarder.

Anyone wish to clarify this one, please?
§ 55-248.9. Prohibited provisions in rental agreements.
A. A rental agreement shall not contain provisions that the tenant:
6. Agrees as a condition of tenancy in public housing to a prohibition or restriction of any lawful possession of a firearm within individual dwelling units unless required by federal law or regulation; or
B. A provision prohibited by subsection A included in a rental agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord brings an action to enforce any of the prohibited provisions, the tenant may recover actual damages sustained by him and reasonable attorney's fees.
 

Tomahawk

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ChinChin wrote:
§ 55-248.9. Prohibited provisions in rental agreements.
A. A rental agreement shall not contain provisions that the tenant:
6. Agrees as a condition of tenancy in public housing to a prohibition or restriction of any lawful possession of a firearm within individual dwelling units unless required by federal law or regulation; or
B. A provision prohibited by subsection A included in a rental agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord brings an action to enforce any of the prohibited provisions, the tenant may recover actual damages sustained by him and reasonable attorney's fees.
Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that law if applied to a roomate who will be sharing living space with you personally? It's a good law for apartments where the tenants will be living in their own units, but inside your own house I would say you have a right to boot him without cause.
 

TexasNative

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Apr 11, 2007
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Austin, TX
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I think we're overlooking a key phrase in this law, highlighted below.

ChinChin wrote:
§ 55-248.9. Prohibited provisions in rental agreements.
A. A rental agreement shall not contain provisions that the tenant:
6. Agrees as a condition of tenancy in public housing to a prohibition or restriction of any lawful possession of a firearm within individual dwelling units unless required by federal law or regulation; or
B. A provision prohibited by subsection A included in a rental agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord brings an action to enforce any of the prohibited provisions, the tenant may recover actual damages sustained by him and reasonable attorney's fees.
This appears to me not to be a general prohibition to be applied to all rental agreements, but only for those in public housing, i.e., government-subsidized housing.

Or does this have a meaning that I'm not aware of?

~ Boyd
 

AbNo

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TexasNative wrote:
I think we're overlooking a key phrase in this law, highlighted below.

ChinChin wrote:
§ 55-248.9. Prohibited provisions in rental agreements.
A. A rental agreement shall not contain provisions that the tenant:
6. Agrees as a condition of tenancy in public housing to a prohibition or restriction of any lawful possession of a firearm within individual dwelling units unless required by federal law or regulation; or
B. A provision prohibited by subsection A included in a rental agreement is unenforceable. If a landlord brings an action to enforce any of the prohibited provisions, the tenant may recover actual damages sustained by him and reasonable attorney's fees.
This appears to me not to be a general prohibition to be applied to all rental agreements, but only for those in public housing, i.e., government-subsidized housing.

Or does this have a meaning that I'm not aware of?

~ Boyd
No, I'm pretty sure you've got it right there.

I do believe this is for government teat-fed housing, or subsisted places such as Chestnut Ridge.

http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Harrisonburg-Chestnut-Ridge-Apartments-597215.html"

(I can not HTML today....)
 

user

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I think that the only real problem will be if you have reason to learn facts such that you have reason to know (whether you know what the law is or not) that the room-mate is ineligible to be in possession of a firearm, and you leave it around in a way so as to be accessible to the room-mate.

Best to always keep it locked up unless it's "in use" anyway - where the phrase "in use" includes carrying on your person.
 

virginiatuck

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jegoodin wrote:
virginiatuck wrote:
It's not illegal, but I'm sure your mother is just looking out for your safety. What're the chances that your friend who has been ogling your gun will attempt to handle it if you leave it unlocked and unattended? You don't have to do what your mother says, but you should heed her warnings.

Many property owners/managers, especially those of apartment buildings, have clauses in their leasing agreements that prohibit firearms. Archstone is an example of one that does/did. I can't and won't speak as to whether such a no-guns clause would hold up in court. I'm just saying that you may have signed a contract which states that you will not have any firearms on the property; and if you did agree to it, you should be aware of that and its potential consequences. They could probably evict you since violation of any of the terms of the agreement would probably void it. I'm not a lawyer nor have I read your lease agreement.
Oh my, yes, heed your Mommy's warning about that evil gun. Her friend might have some mysterious insight as to what is in your lease that wil make it illegal for you to have a gun in your apartment.
Just to clarify, those were two separate paragraphs. One had nothing to do with the other and I did not intend to mix the two. In one, his mom probably just doesn't trust his roommate. And that's fair, I don't trust him either.

I brought up the issue of rental agreements without any correlation to his mother's apprehension nor the honesty or correctness of her "friend." Having a firearm in a rented dwelling under a contract that forbids firearms is a civil matter that he should consider beyond the question of whether it is legal.

55-248.9 clearly only applies to housing that is owned by a Government authority.
 
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