Virginia will no longer honor NC's concealed carry permits
Published December 24, 2015
by Jim Nolan, Richmond Times-Dispatch, reprinted in Winston-Salem Journal, December 22, 2015.
Beginning Feb. 1, Virginia will no longer honor the out-of-state concealed handgun carry permits of gun owners from more than two dozen of the states with which the commonwealth currently has reciprocal privileges.
The move, expected to be announced Tuesday by Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring, follows an audit conducted by the attorney general’s office and the Virginia State Police pursuant to the state criminal code, which requires both agencies to determine whether reciprocating states “meet the requirements and qualifications” for recognition of their concealed handgun permits.
Law enforcement sources said late Monday night that following the monthslong audit process, it was determined that more than two dozen of the 30 states whose permits are currently recognized in the commonwealth do not meet Virginia’s standards.
The audit determined that the requirements for gaining a concealed handgun permit in those states were not sufficient to keep a person from obtaining a permit who would otherwise be disqualified under Virginia law.
States whose permits will no longer be recognized in Virginia include several that border the commonwealth — North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Agreements will remain with West Virginia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
Virginia law lists 20 conditions that would disqualify a person from being issued a concealed carry handgun permit. They include anyone in the United States illegally, subject to a protection from abuse order, or convicted of various criminal charges from drunken driving to assault and battery.
Visitors to Virginia can still obtain a non-resident permit if they meet a separate set of standards set forth in the law.
People convicted of a felony, domestic abusers, those adjudicated mentally ill or incompetent, recently convicted drunk drivers and dishonorably discharged military personnel are among those determined by the Virginia General Assembly to be ineligible to lawfully conceal handguns.
The sources said the move to deny reciprocation does not change current law, but is aimed at protecting existing Virginia law by not lowering standards for out-of-state permit holders with fewer restrictions on concealed carry.
The move comes less than one month before the Virginia General Assembly is set to reconvene for its 2016 session, and promises to intensify the ongoing debate surrounding public safety and gun rights.
In October, Gov. Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order banning the open carrying of weapons by non-law enforcement personnel in executive branch agencies and buildings.
The ban includes offices of state agencies in Richmond as well as buildings throughout the state such as Department of Motor Vehicles facilities and Virginia Employment Commission centers. The new restriction doesn’t apply to the state Capitol building or General Assembly offices, where authority rests with the legislature. Guns already are not allowed in court buildings.
The governor also established a task force that includes the attorney general and will direct state resources toward gun prosecutions, ordered the Virginia State Police to create a tip line to let people collect rewards for reporting gun violations, and enacted an immediate ban on openly carried guns in executive branch offices.
McAuliffe and Democrats have for years tried to gain additional restrictions on the sale and purchase and permitting of firearms, including universal background checks, but without success in a Republican-controlled legislature.
Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers, backed by the NRA and Second Amendment pro-gun groups, have pushed for expanded gun rights, fewer restrictions and greater reciprocity with neighboring states.
The Washington Post contributed to this story.
