Welcome to the Commonwealth of Virginia
http://www.courts.state.va.us/search/textopinions.html allows you to search previous VA supreme and appellate court decisions. This is more for edge cases but VA codes can be vague at times and the appellate record is the only way to really tell what the law really is. An example is knives. In VA a knife can be considered a concealed weapon, switchblades, gravity knives are explicitly banned but exactly what type of knife qualifies as "or like weapons" is murky, your typical short bladed pocket knife is fine, but locking blades are not depending on how long the blade is, the presence of hilts, etc. etc. One judge's standard was if it was a "fighting" knife but others have disagreed with this standard. The only length standard is 3-inches in the case of carry by adults in schools.
http://leg1.state.va.us/000/src.htm Allows you to search the VA law codes, do a search on firearms or weapons. The most important one is § 18.2-308. Personal protection; carrying concealed weapons; when lawful to carry.
You also need to be aware of local county and city ordinances, and hunting regulations because they cover where you can shoot out-of-doors as well as carrying of loaded rifles and shotguns in your vehicle. Localities cannot keep you from carrying or owning a gun but can restrict shooting of them. The exception is that nonCPP holders cannot not carry certain high capacity weapons in certain cities.
Getting a concealed pistol permit is straight forward, just go to your local courthouse fill out the form and pay $50, wait up to 45 days. Some localities require fingerprints some do not. VA also has a training requirement, see the list in § 18.2-308, but no particular range qualification standards.
Open carry is legal anywhere, except court houses, K-12 schools, airport terminals, federal buildings and churches during worship services 9without good reason). I think VCU might also be off limits, but for most colleges the weapon bans apply only to students and staff. You cannot conceal carry in establishments that serve alcohol, but can open carry. Private property owners may also restrict carry on their property. If the owner or manager asks you to leave you must do so or face trespassing charges.
For Open Carry the weapon must be commonly observable, see state courts for what this exactly means.
There is no gun registration in VA and friend to friend sales are unregulated as long as the seller does not know the buyer is ineligible, i.e. felon, out-of-state, mental issues.
If you have an interest in gun rights sign up at
http://www.vcdl.org/ for there newsletter.
For self defense use of weapons you must have a reasonable belief your life or someones else's is in immediate jeopardy. This includes people breaking into houses and the like, you cannot just shoot intruders. If you get in an argument with someone, you must retreat or show signs of non-agression before using a weapon. This is to keep people from starting fights then claiming self defense if the other person pulls out a knife during the fight and they kill them.
Gun Laws of VA covers everything pretty well and a new edition just came out.
http://www.gunlaws.com/
Hello and