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Marine New to VA .... Bring me up to speed....

Semper702

New member
Joined
Jul 2, 2011
Messages
1
Location
Yorktown, VA
Hello everyone... I just got stationed in Virginia.... I am an active duty marine stationed in Yorktown.... I lived in Nevada before I joined the marine corps and oc'ed quite frequlenty.... And now that I'm finally able to settle down for a while... I am going to bring out my guns as soon as possible.

I really just need to know the basics for Virginia , just bring me up to speed about open Carry and any info on concealed would also be helpful. Im 21 years old and have been carrying for about a year... My carry gun for now is a glock 23.... Any help would be appreciated....
 

SouthernBoy

Regular Member
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,837
Location
Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
Welcome aboard and thank you for your service to our nation.

I also carry a 3G G23 as my primary open and concealed sidearm. You might want to visit vcdl.org for some info and also spend a bit of time here on the Virginia forum to gain a bit of knowledge about the carrying of a firearm.

Basically, Virginia is the most lenient and gun-friend state in the South with perhaps the least amount of restrictions and impediments to the carrying of a defensive sidearm, open or concealed. Here open carry is the normal, or default, mode of carry, whereas concealed carry is the exceptional mode (you have to obtain a CHP for concealed carry, exception being private property). It would be to your best interests to obtain a CHP so you are covered for those times when you wish to go concealed. And a course such as was mentioned by ProShooter can never hurt, either.
 

wikieod

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2011
Messages
18
Location
Chesapeake, VA
Welcome Marine, from a squid Chief. VA is great about our rights, unfortunately the military bases are not (at least the Navy bases). OCDO has a lot of great info, and you will learn more than you ever thought possible here.
 

t33j

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Messages
1,384
Location
King George, VA
Hello everyone... I just got stationed in Virginia.... I am an active duty marine stationed in Yorktown....
Welcome. I would be extraordinarily surprised if you ever had any problem in Yorktown. Look for the OC meetups / dinners in the future. Lafayette Gun Club has an indoor 24/7 pistol range. I'm sure there are many members here who would be willing to sponsor you. IMO you've come to a sort of OC paradise.

The basics:
No permit required to OC. 18 years old is the minimum age. (No statute, http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308.7)
The usual federal places are off limits, but note that in Yorktown proper there is a state visitors center as well as a federal one.
OC is prohibited in National Forests, but fine in State and National parks, as well as state forests in the next couple of days. (VA-Alert 05-09-2011: "Second, the effective date for open and concealed carry in State Forests is July 7th, 2011. I would not encourage you to assume that the new regulation is effective immediately.", http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&client=ubuntu&channel=cs&ie=UTF-8&q=national+park+gun, http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...A-State-Park&p=1555808&viewfull=1#post1555808, http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+reg+4VAC15-40-60)
Carry on college campuses is legal but would probably get you expelled if you were a student. Carry inside buildings at GMU (and I think VCU) is actually illegal (so they say). (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+reg+8VAC35-60-20, http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+reg+8VAC90-10-50)
Courthouses, Jails, and k-12 school grounds (including school buses) are off limits for OC, but CC in a car on k-12 is fine. Look up or ask for the details if interested. (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-283.1, http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308.1)
Basically any commercial airport terminal building will be off limits, although parking lots etc... are not. Smaller municipal airports that handle mostly private traffic are not off limits. (This is a list of prohibited airports in VA, but you can assume that any airport that has a terminal is off limits) (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-287.01)
Carrying on property with posted signs or after asked to leave is a trespass charge (although I've never heard of an actual case) and not a firearm related offense. Pretty bad form though.(http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-119)
Banks are not off limits unless posted or asked to leave. (no statute)
Restaurants that serve alcohol are not off limits. (no statute)
 
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thebigsd

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
3,535
Location
Quarryville, PA
Check out the Virginia Citizens Defense League. It is a great group dedicated to gun rights in VA. If you go to their website you can sign up for VA-ALERT (on the right side of the page) which is a free email system that will keep you informed about everything gun-related going on in the state. The website is http://www.vcdl.org
 

sidestreet

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
673
Location
, ,
Don't point your finger at anyone while OCing...,

especially in your area, more specifically, in Surry County, even more specifically, at, on, or near the Jamestown - Scotland Neck Ferry!!! Read the Skidmark threads and beware, you could be next!!!

Join VCDL, lots to learn from here and there, I always say it's the best $25.00 you can spend on your gun rights in VA, and nobody has ever challenged me on that!!!

It's getting so that we have to fight for every dang thing there is, so get on the winning side and give us and yourself a fighting chance.

sidestreet

we are not equal, we will never be equal, but we must be relentless.
 
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Dutch Uncle

Campaign Veteran
Joined
May 11, 2006
Messages
1,715
Location
Virginia, USA
Welcome, and again, thank you for your service to our nation! We do appreciate that here.

My mother, sister and brother now live in Reno and Virginia City. I can't CC there because NV doesn't accept VA's permit. My sister says I'll probably get hassled if I OC in downtown near the casinos, but I've had no problem OCing near the outskirts where she lives. Her CCW has to specify the type and serial number of her weapon. In VA you just get a CCW and you can carry 10 different pistols if you want. Hers has to specify if its for a revolver or semi-auto; here you can carry a Desert Eagle or a wheellock muzzle loader if you'd like to! In old Virginia City I OC all the time, and get the Californian tourists all flustered, but it pains me to see my family members forking over $25 every time they have to go through a NICS check! My sister just recently got into guns, and the NICS are really getting into some serious money. Here, its 2 bucks, and we've complained about that.

I think you're gonna like ol' Virginia a lot, and you're certainly welcome to our forum!
 

2a4all

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
1,846
Location
Newport News, Virginia, USA
Welcome to OCDO and to the Commonwealth.

Your PCS orders will enable you to satisfy the residency requirement for purposes of purchasing firearms from local FFLs and applying for a resident CHP.

You didn't say if you live on base or in town. Obviously, if you reside on base, you'll have to comply with the base regs for privately owned firearms, and comply with Va laws when you take them off base. We on this forum consider York-Poquoson Sheriff Diggs to be a LEO of the highest caliber, who runs a most professional police force. He and his wife have been our guests at a couple of OCDO dinners.
 

45acpForMe

Newbie
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
2,805
Location
Yorktown, Virginia, USA
Welcome to York County! :)

If you send Ed a self addressed envelope he will send you some OC info cards which are good to hand out to people that show interest in your OC activities. :) Hope you can attend a future OC dinner in the area. They are a great opportunity to meet others on this board as well as get lots of questions answered quickly.

edsoccards.jpg


The thread with the card is at : http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...EN-CARRY-Info-Card-Educating-the-public/page5
 

va_tazdad

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
1,162
Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Welcome to Virginia Marine! Even us old "Wing Waxers" enjoy OCing, as is our right in this state, but there are restrictions on ALL military bases.

If you are in Richmond on any given Saturday morning there are a number of friendly folk that would love for you to join them for breakfast. I seem to have to work when they get together for breakfast but have found the occasions enjoyable.

There is also a monthly dinner gathering that you will be more than welcome to attend. VCDL (as Sidestreet mentioned) is a great place to research many of the questions you may have.

Again, Welcome.
 
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