Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §18.2-287.4 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-287.4. Carrying loaded firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty.
It shall be is unlawful for any person to
carry a loaded (a) (i) 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) (ii)
shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven
rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered or rifle 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, Roanoke, 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. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be is
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.
2. That the provisions of this act may result in a net increase in periods of imprisonment or commitment. Pursuant to §30-19.1:4 of the Code of Virginia, the estimated amount of the necessary appropriation is $0 for periods of imprisonment in state adult correctional facilities and cannot be determined for periods of commitment to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.