Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I'm wondering if VA has a stop and ID law? I tired google but i either suck at it or google has failed me so I figured I'd ask you guys.

Not sure what you mean by "stop and ID." If you mean are you required to inform an LEO if you are carrying concealed (with a valid permit) - answer is no. Some states do.

cigarmanva your question has been debated many times on this board. One if the officer run your plates he knows you have a concealed carry permit. If doesn't ask you don't volunteer the information.
for anwers to many questions about gun laws purchase the Virginia Gun owners guide. as far as the internet try handgunlaw.us or the Vurginia state police have a good site.

True, the subject has been debated but the law is clear -- you are not required to inform in VA...

In general (disregarding the demand to see CHP, which you are only required to provide if you are, in fact, carrying concealed) you do not have to show any ID. Identify rules are ordinanced, not statutory, in general.

In Virginia Beach you must give your name and address if Terry stopped.

E. When (i) a person is detained by a law-enforcement officer for questioning based upon specific, objective facts establishing a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in or about to become engaged in criminal activity, (ii) the officer requires that the person identify himself and give a reasonably credible account of the lawfulness of his conduct and purposes, and (iii) the person refuses to comply with the requirement, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.






oops'... there it is..... , while Va has "no law" please notice the language above,

" reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in or about to become engaged in "


http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504 ... ful+HB1643

GS78 wrote:E. When (i) a person is detained by a law-enforcement officer for questioning based upon specific, objective facts establishing a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in or about to become engaged in criminal activity, (ii) the officer requires that the person identify himself and give a reasonably credible account of the lawfulness of his conduct and purposes, and (iii) the person refuses to comply with the requirement, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.






oops'... there it is..... , while Va has "no law" please notice the language above,

" reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in or about to become engaged in "


http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504 ... ful+HB1643

That seems to pretty much leave it open for a cop to say anything he wants to in court to prove that you should have produced ID when asked.

That is the intent. I see both sides of this, but then that is the problem , isn't it?......



If I am standing in front of the whitehouse or Pentagon minding my own bees-wax,as it were, I don't want to have to "show my papers" when asked.....



But if Abulhassan-abdullah-Mohammed is standing there, "He better have some papers to show"....


and thats how they get things like that passed into law, they know most people feel exactly that way, and most people will come down on the side of "security" even it its "false".

I assumed the OP was referring to being asked for ID when your OC'ing since that seems to be a common concern and in that regard my understanding is no, a Terry stop is not permitted simply because you are in possession of a gun unless the officer has reason to believe you were involved in or plan on committing a crime. He needs reasonable suspicion. Based on my limited knowledge.

Regarding the LEO knowing you have a concealed permit because he ran your plate - there seems to be some common misconceptions on this that I have seen in these threads that we take for granted which may not always be correct; 1) I thought the VA CHP was tied to the driver's license not your vehicle registration? (i could be wrong on this) 2) It seems posters here assume that the CHP carrier is driving a vehicle registered to themselves, 3) It appears we assume the vehicle is registered in VA. Seems like a lot of variables. To my knowledge the VA LEO only knows A) if you tell him, or B) If he runs your VA driver's license. Or C) observes. Which begs the question, if you are passing thru and get stopped, does the out of state carry permit show up when he/she runs your out of state DL?

Remember too that you are only required to identify yourself, not show your identification.

ProShooter wrote:Remember too that you are only required to identify yourself, not show your identification.

That's a good point.

thanks guys, I wasn't really asking about having to show ID while driving and carrying but more of a walking down the street and you're stopped and the cops ask you for ID situation firearm or no firearm. thanks for the info

Hmm. Reminds me of places in Europe where the guys wear leather trench coats and when they say "Your papers please" you wish you were anywhere but there...

it'll be like that here soon enough, for "safety" reasons......

That law is awfully vague in Constitutionality isn't it?

Has someone argued on that point before? I knew you had a law that you had to id yourself in a given situation, but didn't realize it was that open for interpretation...

And I'm not wearing

I just don't like anyone in my business, guv'mint or otherwise.

cigarmanva wrote:thanks guys, I wasn't really asking about having to show ID while driving and carrying but more of a walking down the street and you're stopped and the cops ask you for ID situation firearm or no firearm. thanks for the info

I don’t know about being stopped just walking down the street, but apparently you can be stopped for no reason and required to show a driver’s license if you are driving a car.

In the early afternoon on Saturday, a little over a week ago, I was driving from Broadway to Harrisonburg on VA-42. At about the halfway point, there was a major roadblock with about a half dozen police cars, and all traffic heading south was being stopped by the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.

It took me a few minutes of waiting in line to finally get up to an officer. When I did, he asked me for my driver’s license. I politely asked him why he wanted it and if I had committed any infraction or given him any cause to be stopped. He told me no on both accounts and said the roadblock was part of Operation Checkpoint Strikeforce.

Apparently anticipating my next question before I could ask it, he also told me that Checkpoint Strikeforce was a multi-state program intended to catch drunk/impaired drivers and that it had been going on for a number of years. He also said that about twenty years ago the Supreme Court ruled that unannounced checkpoints were legal. I thought it sounded fishy, but I showed the officer my driver’s license anyway. He thanked me, and I drove off. Leaving the checkpoint, I noticed that there were four or five empty civilian cars parked on the side of the road; I’m guessing that their drivers were arrested for one reason or another.

Anyway, I checked up on Checkpoint Strikeforce, sobriety checkpoints, and the Supreme Court later and found that what the deputy told me was correct.

R/Kurt

locally here in Fairfax and Loudoun, I have been stopped recently for " Valid Driver License" check points...

they are usually fairly quick, and when i inquired, the officer told me that the issue is illegal aliens ignoring the requirement of a Drivers License to operate a motor vehical, and then getting in accidents w/o insurance, etc...

i smiled and handed over my license and said thank you for his efforts... as once i showed my license, confirmed it was valid...i was on my way... he never got close to my face to smell my breath or anything other than exactly what he stated...

and in reviewing the links in this post, it really seems to be vague and situation specific...and alot is open to the "reasonable" interpretation...

be careful out there!!!