Yes, ignore Peter Nap's post. He's a nice guy, but he gets a little grumpy about CHPs. He was reacting to the apparent disparity between your statements about OC'ing, and applying for a CHP.
The answer to your question is quite simply, nobody knows. The reason nobody knows is because as far as I am aware, there has never been a court case that settled the question once and for all.
The GFSZA is one of the most heinous laws on the books of the US Code. The feds hold it like a hammer over the head of nearly every law-abiding citizen who chooses to carry a gun.
Regarding Virginia, I will admit my point of view is in the minority, but the only reason for that is because the conclusion that one must reach if they accept the plain text reading of the laws involved is so horrible, it must be rejected - even though as far as I know, there is no legal rational to justify that.
According to the plain text of the law, no citizens in Virginia can claim the "license" exemption provided in the GFSZA, because it clearly requires that the state must issue a license to "possess" a gun. [
"if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so"] Virginia does not issue a license to possess. The CHP that Virginia issues does one thing only, and that is to exempt the holder from the generally illegal act of concealing a handgun. Since Virginia does not issue the required license to be exempt from the GFSZA, EVERY person who carries a gun within 1,000 feet of a school zone (except ON DUTY police officers) is a felon.
In order to accept that a CHP exempts you from the GFSZA, one must believe that a CHP is a license to "possess" a gun. Nobody has yet been able to provide a cite to any law or court finding that supports such a leap.
Then there is the whole other issue of reciprocity, namely that BATFE believes reciprocal agreements mean nothing with regard to GFSZA, which nullifies any gun carry in any state for which you do not have their actual permit.
One day, I hope a court case will come along that settles these questions. Read the text for yourself and make up your own mind:
Beginning of Virginia CHP law
Section 18.2-308.01, which explains the purpose of a CHP
Wiki article on GFSZA, which includes the text of the law
Here's the important part:
Until that time comes, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it, there are literally hundreds of thousands of us "federal felons" running around the state every day. As long as you don't do anything crazy, the odds are strongly in your favor that it will never be a problem. No guarantees, though, which is exactly the way the feds want it.
TFred
ETA: In fact... I just went back and more carefully read 18.2-308.01, to make sure I didn't miss anything. My opinion that a CHP does not qualify for the GFSZA "license exemption" just got much stronger. Paragraph C, which we all love to argue about regarding carry on private property, actually
explicitly states that having a CHP
does not authorize possession where such possession is otherwise prohibited by law. To those who think I'm crazy, read the paragraph below, and tell me how a Virginia CHP can possibly exempt someone from the GFSZA, when it specifically requires a license to possess!
"C. The granting of a concealed handgun permit pursuant to this article
shall not thereby authorize the possession of any handgun or other weapon on property or
in places where such possession is otherwise prohibited by law or is prohibited by the owner of private property."
