Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I just moved to the city of Fredericksburg and talked to a Police Captain here and he confirmed that there is no local ordnance prohibiting me from open carrying in the city and they only comply with state law. Also was told I would probably not be harassed by Police here in town either. The question is, are their businesses in the area, the city and Stafford and Spotsy Counties that are not gun friendly. I know I cannot carry, even with a permit, a firearm into a School, Government Building, Post Office or Church under any circumstances. Can you OC in a Bar or place that sells and/or serves Alcohol?

Not carrying in government buildings and churchs is different here in VA, also. There are big and important differences between OC and CC here. You probably will want to read the restrictions directly from the code itself to understand the nuances of Virginia handgun laws. Just do a search on Virginia handgun laws and get a cup of coffee. Remember, if it's not restricted, it's legal. Welcome to the forum, by the way!
One other thing, Virginia has a pre-emption law. Local municipalities are not allowed to have laws regulating the ownership, transportation or carrying of firearms. They have to abide by the state laws.

jmicheals1984 wrote:I just moved to the city of Fredericksburg and talked to a Police Captain here and he confirmed that there is no local ordnance prohibiting me from open carrying in the city and they only comply with state law. Also was told I would probably not be harassed by Police here in town either. The question is, are their businesses in the area, the city and Stafford and Spotsy Counties that are not gun friendly. I know I cannot carry, even with a permit, a firearm into a School, Government Building, Post Office or Church under any circumstances. Can you OC in a Bar or place that sells and/or serves Alcohol?

Your information is not entirely correct. You may benefit from this class - http://proactiveshooters.com/general-co ... rry-in-va/

jmicheals1984 welcome You might also try going to http://forum.opencarry.org look around and talk to people there.
Here is the link to the VA forum: http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/forum ... 0-Virginia
And here is a link to a discussion about Fredricksburg going from 2006 to June 2011:
http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showt ... dricksburg
Again welcome and look into the Virginia Citizen Defense League @ http://www.vcdl.org

John

Well, I Open Carried my Pistol today going to Blockbuster and the Gas Station and one of the people at BB looked at me funny, the other did not seem to care, the gas station clerk not even appear to notice. I was almost home and a F'Burg PD car sped down the cross street in the intersection as I was almost home, my heart skipped a bit but he kept going. It felt pretty comfortable one me and does not affect the way I walk or how my pants feel. I took the gun out of the holster and into the center console while on the road. Now I hope I don't have any problems at the grocery store this weekend. Question though. Is it illegal to drive through a school zone OCing?

Do some reading here, particularly of the code sections which are in bold:

virginia-laws/code-virginia-firearms-laws-t2.html

That's not *every* gun related law, but most of them that you should be concerned with while carrying in VA.

jmicheals1984 wrote:Is it illegal to drive through a school zone OCing?

No. You're still on a public roadway. The fact that you have to slow down when children are present doesn't change the fact that you can carry.

Now, if you enter school property, it's a different issue. The very general rule is that you can't have a gun on school property. But there is an exception to that rule for CHP holders carrying concealed "while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular ingress or egress to the school." The idea is that you can be carrying concealed with your CHP, and pull up and drop your kid off at the front door and pick them up in the afternoon. It used to be the case that to be technically and fully legal, you would have had to pull over on the side of the road and unload the gun and put it in a "closed container" before entering the school grounds.

The whole attitude in this state, or city rather is the opposite of what I am used to. I walked through Walmart on a busy Saturday evening and nobody even looked at me. Its fair to say that Mich is not a "OC Friendly State". The way it was explained to me by Police in Mich, its considered brandishing if an officer receives a complaint from a citizen and determines you were brandishing a firearm.