Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 18.2-287.4 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 18.2-287.5 as follows:
§18.2-287.4. Carrying loaded firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry a loaded (a) semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and 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 on or about his person on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public in the Cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach or in the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, or Prince William.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to
law-enforcement officers, licensed security guards, military personnel in the
performance of their lawful duties, or any person having a valid concealed
handgun permit or to any person actually engaged in lawful hunting or lawful
recreational shooting activities at an established shooting range or shooting contest.
or any person, employed by a local or state government, who are going to and
from their place of work or any person,
employed by a local or state government, at their government place of work. Any
person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor.
The exemptions set forth in §§18.2-308 and 18.2-308.016 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions of this section.
§18.2-287.5. Carrying loaded firearms in government buildings prohibited; penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry a loaded (a) semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and 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 on or about his person in any governmental building.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to law-enforcement officers, licensed security guards, military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, or any person, employed by a local or state government, who are going to and from their place of work or at their government place of work. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The exemptions set forth in §§ 18.2-308 and 18.2-308.016 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions of this section.