Virginia

Confirmed directly from the official Virginia Law site: Va. Code §18.2-308 regulates only carrying a weapon 'hidden from common observation' (concealed); open carry has never required a permit in Virginia for an adult who may lawfully possess a firearm. (A separate, narrower provision, §18.2-287.4, restricts loaded semi-automatic rifles/certain magazines in public spaces of specific higher-population localities — not applicable to ordinary handgun open carry.)

Va. Code §18.2-283 makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor to carry a gun or other dangerous weapon 'without good and sufficient reason' to a place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held there. This is an old, general statute (not limited to permit holders) — the Virginia AG has opined that carrying for personal self-defense qualifies as 'good and sufficient reason,' but that is a non-binding interpretation and could be litigated differently in a given case, so the practical answer still depends on interpretation of 'good and sufficient reason' plus the church's own property rights.

Va. Code § 18.2-308.012(B), confirmed directly from Virginia's official code site: a person carrying a concealed handgun onto the premises of any ABC on-premises-licensed restaurant or club may not consume an alcoholic beverage while there (a Class 2 misdemeanor if violated) — but merely carrying (not drinking) is unrestricted. Notably, this specific restriction applies to concealed carry only; open carry while consuming is treated differently under Virginia law.

Virginia's concealed handgun permit statute (Va. Code § 18.2-308) lists specific exceptions and restricted locations, none of which mention boats or vessels; a CHP holder may carry concealed anywhere not otherwise listed as prohibited. Separately, § 18.2-308(B)(8) lets anyone (no permit needed) carry a handgun secured in a container/compartment of a personal, private vessel — a narrower non-permit carve-out that exists alongside full CHP authority.

Va. Code §18.2-283.1 makes it unlawful for ANY person — including a concealed handgun permit holder, no exception — to possess or transport a weapon into 'any courthouse' in Virginia. The statute is explicitly limited to courthouses and does not extend to general government buildings; a DMV office or city hall is not restricted by this provision, and Virginia has broad firearm preemption otherwise.

From 2011 (DiGiacinto v. Rector & Visitors of George Mason Univ.) until mid-2026, Virginia public universities could restrict carry only in buildings/areas of congregation, not ban it on open campus grounds entirely. Gov. Spanberger signed SB 272/HB 626 (Va. Code § 18.2-283.2), effective July 1, 2026, imposing a full concealed/open-carry ban at PUBLIC institutions of higher education (law-enforcement/military/ROTC exceptions). PRIVATE institutions retain independent authority — Liberty University, for example, affirmatively permits concealed carry on its grounds. This is a very recent change; verify current campus policy before relying on it.

Virginia has no statute making a posted sign criminally binding; a property owner may ask a carrier to leave, and refusal is simple trespass. Absent any such request, carry in an ordinary business is lawful.

Verified: Va. Code 18.2-119, the general trespass-after-notice statute, is the operative rule — a property owner may post signs or verbally direct a carrier to leave, and only refusal to comply becomes trespass (Class 1 misdemeanor). Carry itself is not separately conditioned on advance owner consent.

Virginia Code § 18.2-287.01, read directly from the official Virginia Law site (law.lis.virginia.gov), makes it unlawful to 'possess or transport into any air carrier airport terminal in the Commonwealth' a firearm — a ban on the whole terminal, not just the secure area — with narrow exceptions only for presenting a firearm to U.S. Customs before an international flight, checking it as baggage, or retrieving it from baggage claim (i.e., active transport purposes, not general carry). A concealed handgun permit does not create an exception to this statute.

Virginia does not require a permit to carry a handgun openly, or unloaded, in a vehicle. A concealed, loaded handgun on the person (or within immediate unlocked reach) generally requires a Virginia (or recognized) concealed handgun permit for anyone 21+ — Va. Code §18.2-308. However, Virginia's statute also treats a handgun 'secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle' as not 'concealed,' so a handgun kept in a closed console, glovebox, or case in the vehicle does not require a permit either way.

Va. Code Ann. §18.2-283.3(B) restricts firearms specifically at 'any hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services, including an emergency department or other facility rendering emergency medical care.' A general acute-care hospital that doesn't provide those services has no statutory carry restriction — so the answer depends on which kind of hospital.

Virginia requires a concealed handgun permit. Va. Code §18.2-287.4's location restriction (certain public streets/parks in specific localities for particular firearm configurations) expressly exempts concealed handgun permit holders entirely; no rest-area restriction exists elsewhere in the CHP statutes reviewed. Verified against the statute text directly.

Virginia's concealed handgun permit statute requires a permit holder to "have such permit on his person at all times when he is carrying a concealed handgun and must display the permit and proper photo identification upon demand by a law enforcement officer." Reactive display duty only; no proactive verbal duty found.

Virginia Code § 18.2-308.06 and Virginia State Police: "Nonresidents of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 21 years of age or older, may apply in writing to the Virginia State Police for a five-year permit to carry a concealed handgun."

Va. Code §18.2-308.1(B) bans firearms on K-12 school buildings and grounds; the only exception for a concealed handgun permit holder is possessing the handgun while inside a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other vehicular ingress/egress route to the school — not general building or grounds carry.

Virginia Code § 18.2-119 (criminal trespass, a Class 1 misdemeanor) explicitly makes entering property after being 'forbidden to do so by a sign or signs posted... at a place or places where it or they may be reasonably seen' sufficient on its own — no personal communication or refusal to leave is required for the base offense. Sign validity details cross-reference § 18.2-119.1.

Va. Code § 15.2-915 generally preempts local firearm ordinances, but 2020 amendments (effective July 1, 2020, HB 421/SB 35) gave localities meaningful new, named authority to ban/restrict firearms in government buildings, permitted public events, and locality-operated parks/recreation centers. Multiple cities and counties (e.g., Richmond, Alexandria, Virginia Beach, Arlington, Fairfax, Charlottesville) have since adopted such local restrictions, making Virginia a genuine partial-preemption state rather than a full one.

Va. Code § 24.2-604 bars knowingly possessing a firearm within 40 feet of any building used as a polling place; exceptions are limited to law-enforcement officers, persons on their own private property within the 40 ft, and licensed armed security officers on duty — concealed handgun permit holders are not exempted.

New 2026 law (SB 749, signed by Gov. Spanberger May 14, 2026) bans sale, manufacture, transfer, and purchase of magazines holding more than 15 rounds, effective July 1, 2026; possession of magazines already owned is grandfathered. A Washington County Circuit Court statewide preliminary injunction (Santolla v. Katz, issued June 29 and extended statewide July 7, 2026) currently BLOCKS enforcement through July 1, 2027 or a final ruling, on Virginia constitutional grounds. The Attorney General is expected to appeal. NOT currently enforced.

Substantial Risk Order, Va. Code § 19.2-152.13 et seq. (2020). Narrow petitioner class for the operative emergency order: only an attorney for the Commonwealth or a law enforcement officer may petition (following a required law-enforcement investigation) — not family members generally.

Genuinely varies by category. Suppressors: legal, no VA-specific restriction beyond federal NFA compliance (SB 1383, 2009, repealed the prior possession ban); some localities restrict CARRYING a suppressor in specific public places (a use restriction, not possession). Machine guns: legal but require SEPARATE STATE REGISTRATION on top of federal NFA — Va. Code § 18.2-295 (Uniform Machine Gun Act) mandates registering with Virginia State Police within 24 hours of acquisition; § 18.2-293.1 limits lawful civilian purposes to scientific use, non-functional curios, or purposes manifestly not aggressive or offensive. Short-barreled rifles/shotguns: primary statute (§§ 18.2-299 to 18.2-303) makes possession 'for any other purpose' a Class 4 felony, and its exceptions cover only sale to armed forces/law enforcement — no clause found exempting a simply NFA-compliant civilian, unlike VA's own machine-gun/suppressor statutes. Flagged as unresolved tension requiring attorney confirmation before publishing a flat claim for that category.

No SYG statute; case law holds that a person entirely without fault in provoking a confrontation has no duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense wherever lawfully present (Foote v. Commonwealth, 11 Va. App. 61, 396 S.E.2d 851 (1990); McCoy v. Commonwealth, 125 Va. 771, 99 S.E. 644 (1919)); an initial aggressor must retreat as far as safely possible. The castle doctrine (Fortune v. Commonwealth, 133 Va. 669 (1922)) separately relaxes the standard inside the home. For a fault-free defender: no duty to retreat anywhere lawfully present.

Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-308.2:2, 18.2-308.2:5 (2020) prohibit selling a firearm 'for money, goods, services or anything else of value' without routing the sale through a licensed dealer for a background check on the buyer. Exceptions include antique firearms, state-run buyback/giveback programs, and — per the statute's own 'sale' framing — a transfer with genuinely no consideration (a pure gift) is less clearly covered.