Mike
Site Co-Founder
US News & World Report rates Virginia as best state for gun carry rights in DC region
http://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/dc-maryland-or-virginia-where-should-you-live
SNIP
"Virginia has the least restrictive gun laws. Of the three jurisdictions, Virginia’s gun laws are the least restrictive. It’s a lot more straightforward to get a concealed carry permit in Virginia, whereas Maryland is much more reluctant to issue them, says Boyce. Virginia is also an “open carry” state, meaning that you can carry a gun without a permit in most counties, except Arlington, Fairfax or Alexandria. In Maryland, the permit application asks why you want the permit, “and they have the authority to deny you if they don’t like your reason . . ."
- Break -
OpenCarry.org Comment: This article overstates the practical consequences of Virginia's regulation of open carry in cities and specified counties.
Virginia Code § 18.2-287.4 is just a paper tiger as it does NOT ban gun carry in cities nor in the specified counties listed in the statute, nor does that statute generally require possession of a concealed handgun permit (CHP) to open carry firearms within city limits.
Possession of a CHP to open carry in cities and specified counties is only required if the firearm is "equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock or (b) shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered."
As a practical matter, the vast majority of open carriers in Virginia and all states are carrying handguns, and not long guns. Moreover, it is very impractical, and in practice, rare, for any open carrier to possess "a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition."
http://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/dc-maryland-or-virginia-where-should-you-live
SNIP
"Virginia has the least restrictive gun laws. Of the three jurisdictions, Virginia’s gun laws are the least restrictive. It’s a lot more straightforward to get a concealed carry permit in Virginia, whereas Maryland is much more reluctant to issue them, says Boyce. Virginia is also an “open carry” state, meaning that you can carry a gun without a permit in most counties, except Arlington, Fairfax or Alexandria. In Maryland, the permit application asks why you want the permit, “and they have the authority to deny you if they don’t like your reason . . ."
- Break -
OpenCarry.org Comment: This article overstates the practical consequences of Virginia's regulation of open carry in cities and specified counties.
Virginia Code § 18.2-287.4 is just a paper tiger as it does NOT ban gun carry in cities nor in the specified counties listed in the statute, nor does that statute generally require possession of a concealed handgun permit (CHP) to open carry firearms within city limits.
Possession of a CHP to open carry in cities and specified counties is only required if the firearm is "equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock or (b) shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered."
As a practical matter, the vast majority of open carriers in Virginia and all states are carrying handguns, and not long guns. Moreover, it is very impractical, and in practice, rare, for any open carrier to possess "a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition."
