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.