Summary of Gun Laws for NoVa...Draft

[ProShooter]

What about if you're in an SUV and don't have a concealed carry? How are you supposed to keep gun and ammo in a trunk and locked? :-/

You would follow section 926A of the US Code. Ammo and gun go in locked containers other than the glove compartment or console.

This is one of the laws we discuss in our concealed carry class.

[dems4guns]

RE: NoVa Gun Laws- I guess I can see where it might be misleading, but there are local laws about discharge or a firearm and under what situations you can discharge a firearm and how big your property has to be. In my next draft I will make it clearer.

RE: SUV- Same for a truck and a minivan. I have a small gun vault and I would assume that would be sufficient for the purposes of travel. Unloaded and stored is the key it seems.

RE: Volunteering that you are Open-Carrying or Vehicle-Carrying: All makes good sense to me to not say anything and not volunteer anything. This seems like a situational case: If I need to reach into the glove box and there is a loaded handgun in there, I am going to tell him. I will put my registration somewhere apart from the handgun.

My main priority is to have the firearm secured from theft and discovery by unauthorized people. And the police are not authorized until I become a suspect.

[Chasbo00]

Here is some state law about what cities, towns and counties do regarding making gun law that you may want to read:


§ 15.2-915.4. Counties, cities and towns authorized to regulate use of pneumatic guns.
§ 15.2-1209.1. Counties may regulate carrying of loaded firearms on public highways.

[gunderwood]

No alcoholic consumption while carrying firearm.

If we are talking about the law and not what may be good advice...

As for good advice it really depends on the level of consumption. E.g. consuming Tweaker's home brew at Bills, not a good idea to mix them. However, the Swiss often drink wine before shooting rifles because a little bit (a glass) actually helps you shoot better. I would advise against trying that at an American range though.

[wally626]

What about if you're in an SUV and don't have a concealed carry? How are you supposed to keep gun and ammo in a trunk and locked? :-/

State Law on car carry:

§ 18.2-308. Personal protection; carrying concealed weapons; when lawful to carry.
....
Except as provided in subsection J1, this section shall not apply to:
....
10. Any person who may lawfully possess a firearm and is carrying a handgun while in a personal, private motor vehicle or vessel and such handgun is secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel.

Edit to add: for long guns the old requirements apply

3. Any regularly enrolled member of a target shooting organization who is at, or going to or from, an established shooting range, provided that the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported;

4. Any regularly enrolled member of a weapons collecting organization who is at, or going to or from, a bona fide weapons exhibition, provided that the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported;

5. Any person carrying such weapons between his place of abode and a place of purchase or repair, provided the weapons are unloaded and securely wrapped while being transported;

6. Any person actually engaged in lawful hunting, as authorized by the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries, under inclement weather conditions necessitating temporary protection of his firearm from those conditions, provided that possession of a handgun while engaged in lawful hunting shall not be construed as hunting with a handgun if the person hunting is carrying a valid concealed handgun permit;

So as long as the gun is in a closed container and unloaded and you are doing the above activities it is not considered a concealed weapon. You can also open carry long guns,

[wally626]

What about if you're in an SUV and don't have a concealed carry? How are you supposed to keep gun and ammo in a trunk and locked? :-/

You would follow section 926A of the US Code. Ammo and gun go in locked containers other than the glove compartment or console.

This is one of the laws we discuss in our concealed carry class.

In VA this is no longer true, handguns can be carried in consoles and glove compartments and they do not have to be locked.

[Chasbo00]

No alcoholic consumption while carrying firearm.

If we are talking about the law and not what may be good advice...

As for good advice it really depends on the level of consumption. E.g. consuming Tweaker's home brew at Bills, not a good idea to mix them. However, the Swiss often drink wine before shooting rifles because a little bit (a glass) actually helps you shoot better. I would advise against trying that at an American range though.

We here in the USA seem to be overly hung up when it comes to drinking. Personally, I only drink when I'm by myself or with someone else.

[ProShooter]

What about if you're in an SUV and don't have a concealed carry? How are you supposed to keep gun and ammo in a trunk and locked? :-/

You would follow section 926A of the US Code. Ammo and gun go in locked containers other than the glove compartment or console.

This is one of the laws we discuss in our concealed carry class.

In VA this is no longer true, handguns can be carried in consoles and glove compartments and they do not have to be locked.

Within Va, yes but not for interstate transport.

[derek141]

Unless the firearms by air changed, you only put a declaration card inside your lock box. Then your suitcase is locked too.

That is a steal me sign if you have it external.

I have traveled ALOT and NEVER tagged outside my bag.

In the years I have flown with a gun, I have continually found it to be a cointoss as to what airport is going to tell you to put the declaration outside vs. inside the locked box. I just wait for their direction and assume nothing. Agree that it is an invitation if outside, but try arguing reason with the intellectuals behind the ticket counter or at the X-ray. It ain't gonna work out in your favor.

[9MM92FS]

dms4guns wrote: "• NOTE: George Washington Parkway between I-66 and I-395 are under DC law so avoid or keep in trunk unloaded."
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This makes absolutely no sense. The GW Parkway is in Virginia and is patrolled by National Park Service (i.e. federal) police. Neither DC laws or DC police have anything whatsoever to do with that road. However, I believe there is a small stretch a few hundred feet long, south of where it goes under I-66, which is technically in DC because it's an island (and the entire Potomac River is either in DC or MD depending on location because the Va border is the riverbank), but it's a non-issue because DC cops don't patrol it.

[dems4guns]

dms4guns wrote: "• NOTE: George Washington Parkway between I-66 and I-395 are under DC law so avoid or keep in trunk unloaded."
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This makes absolutely no sense. The GW Parkway is in Virginia and is patrolled by National Park Service (i.e. federal) police. Neither DC laws or DC police have anything whatsoever to do with that road. However, I believe there is a small stretch a few hundred feet long, south of where it goes under I-66, which is technically in DC because it's an island (and the entire Potomac River is either in DC or MD depending on location because the Va border is the riverbank), but it's a non-issue because DC cops don't patrol it.

Are you LE? Do you know for sure? I have attached the 2nd District DC Police Map and it clearly shows GW parkway inside their district. http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/frames.asp?doc= ... /2dmap.pdf. Also, there is a lot of blogging about the area, and a lengthy history of the property in Virginia that still belongs to DC.

Commonwealth of Virginia has authority over National Airport and the GW parkway section that runs alongside the airport and south into Alexandria. The NP Police are going to enforce the Virginia laws IF you are in Virginia or at the airport. However, the little stretch along the NE Virginia shore is clearly DC jurisdiction and in the DC Police District. It is primarily patrolled by National Park Police. Since the new National Park Law allows for carrying firearms, and if you did nothing else wrong other than a traffic or park violation you are under the United States Laws. But if you get involved in a firearm incident or a serious crime in the DC zone, I bet they would call DC police to come pick you up and do the arrest and haul you back to DC for booking. The deciding factor is the offense...whether under NPS or DC.

Also, DC owns the shore along the Virginia side as well. That includes the bike trail and the park just north of the airport. They also own the jurisdiction of the waters of the Potomac up to the Maryland line. Check out District 7 DC Police Map.

[tursiops]

http://www.vcdl.org/static/gwp.html

[9MM92FS]

Commonwealth of Virginia has authority over National Airport and the GW parkway section that runs alongside the airport and south into Alexandria.

Not to be nitpicky, but National Airport is under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, which is neither Va or DC.
From their website:
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is an independent body created by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. It has been approved by the U.S. Congress to operate and maintain Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. The Authority is a public body, corporate and politic and is independent of all other bodies. It is not an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the District of Columbia, nor is it a federal agency.

As far as that three or four hundred feet stretch of GW Parkway which covers a small part of the roadway south of I-66 overpass and north of I-395 is concerned, I only go by what the sign says: "Entering District of Columbia". I have traveled it many hundreds of times and have yet to see a DC police cruiser and their ever patrolling it seems nonsensical. Just as there is a tiny section (200 feet? )of I-64 going up Afton Mountain in Albemarle County which is technically in a corner of Nelson County before passing into Augusta County, but which would be absurd for the Nelson County Sheriff's Dept to "patrol". I'm sure there are thousands such oddities around the country caused by political boundary glitches which are overruled by practical concerns.

[tursiops]

As far as that three or four hundred feet stretch of GW Parkway which covers a small part of the roadway south of I-66 overpass and north of I-395 is concerned, I only go by what the sign says: "Entering District of Columbia". I have traveled it many hundreds of times and have yet to see a DC police cruiser and their ever patrolling it seems nonsensical.

That 3-400 feet of parkway you refer to is closer to a mile and a half. Plenty of space to have an accident that is not even your fault....in DC....and guess who the responsible authorities are? They don't need to patrol it to have jurisdiction over it, or to have their laws apply.

[9MM92FS]

That 3-400 feet of parkway you refer to is closer to a mile and a half. Plenty of space to have an accident that is not even your fault....in DC....and guess who the responsible authorities are? They don't need to patrol it to have jurisdiction over it, or to have their laws apply.

After some checking, I'll have to admit you're partially right. It all depends on whether you're heading north or south (actually northwest or southeast) on GW Parkway. Here's the map:

http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=38.884 ... 02&zoom=15

Going north (between I-395 and I-66), you're mostly on "Columbia Island", which is D.C. but if you're heading south, it's mostly Virginia territory. I suppose you'd have to check with National Park Service Police to ascertain which gun laws apply for various stretches of GW Parkway. Even for the part which passes through DCA, I'd guess NPS has jurisdiction on the actual Parkway and MWAA cops the area on either side which is actually part of the Airport. But no matter what, the part passing through DCA is all VA. My wife used to work at DCA and had to testify in a trial concerning an unruly passenger. The case was tried in an Arlington County Court.

[vooduchkn]

Unless the firearms by air changed, you only put a declaration card inside your lock box. Then your suitcase is locked too.

That is a steal me sign if you have it external.

I have traveled ALOT and NEVER tagged outside my bag.

I travel a lot and putting a notification on the outside of your bag is NOT required by TSA. You must declare and then you will get moved to the TSA checkstand (usually faster IMHO). A tag on the outside of your bag screams "steal me please"

You will have to sign a declaration that goes in your LOCKED gun case and if it fits, can go inside your TSA approved locked baggage (usually pistols). Rifle cases must be locked (any lock to my findings) and move on smartly.

You can also carry up to 11 pounds of ammo depending on the carrier. (your read that right) in "original boxes". I have found that any case seems to work. I print out the TSA rules for the airlines I will be flying and highlight appropriate sections for the guys/gals doing the check. Never and issue, never a problem. Nothing but smiles. YMMV!

Knowledge is power. Read the docs, that's is why they exist.