Virginia state code may soon allow people to carry open or concealed guns in state forests, another move in a part of an effort by Gov. Bob McDonnell to scale back some of the state’s regulations prohibiting the carrying of firearms. The governor finalized the change to the Virginia Department of Forestry’s regulation on Friday, and the new code went into effect immediately.
The law originally prohibited firearms of any kind to be carried in a state forest, but now includes an exception for lawfully obtained firearms and ammunition. McDonnell announced his support for an amendment to the forestry department’s code in January, but the changes only occurred after a public comment period.
“These regulations simply allow law abiding Virginians who legally own a firearm to exercise the same rights in a Virginia state forest or state park that they already possess while elsewhere in the Commonwealth,” said Taylor Thornley, a spokeswoman for McDonnell.
As the state’s attorney general in 2008, McDonnell wrote an opinion that the Department of Conservation and Recreation did not have the authority to enforce the no-gun policy. But then Gov. Tim Kaine ordered the department to continue to enforce the law.
An advisory opinion issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in April also found that carrying guns into a place of worship for personal protection is sufficient to meet the requirements of Virginia law, which states it is illegal to do so while a religious meeting is being held “without good and sufficient reason.”
Gun rights advocates at the Virginia Citizens Defense League said McDonnell’s record and actions on gun control, as well as Cuccinelli’s non-legally binding opinion, are a step in the right direction.
“The fact that you can protect yourself everywhere you go is key,” said VCDL President Philip Van Cleave. “And every time we tear down another wall, that’s one less place that a law-abiding citizen would be left vulnerable to crime.”
