VA approves guns in unlocked compartments

[swinokur]

From VCDL yesterday:

Note effective July 1, 2010


The House and Senate both just adopted Governor McDonnell's change to HB 885, so that starting July 1 a non-CHP holder can have a loaded handgun in an UNLOCKED compartment or container in a private motor vehicle or vessel!!!

Three Senators - Marsden, Saslaw, and Marsh - spoke against the
change, wanting to require the compartment or container be locked,
while Senator Vogel spoke in favor of the change.

The vote was 20 to 19 in the Senate, a squeaker, but we won!

Also, the Governor's changes to HB 1217, which makes only NRA gun safety curriculum something that elementary schools can use to teach gun safety, passed by a large margin.

Those emails you sent last week were critical! Good work, VCDL!!!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[boatail]

Great! Now if we can change a few things in Nov, so it's not such a squeaker next time...

[OldVet]

If you put you gun in the glovebox or closed console, then lock your car doors, wouldn't that be considered a locked container anyhow?

[mrjam2jab]

If you put you gun in the glovebox or closed console, then lock your car doors, wouldn't that be considered a locked container anyhow?

Maybe they (squeakers) want it locked while your in the vehicle...?

[CPO 15]

OldVet: I didn't follow the law's debate since I have a CCW and it was moot to me but: a concealed weapon, in Virginia, is a weapon which is "hidden from common observation and readily available." Therefore a weapon in the console or glove box would be considered a concealed weapon and illegal w/o a CCW permit.

[friesepferd]

OldVet: I didn't follow the law's debate since I have a CCW and it was moot to me but: a concealed weapon, in Virginia, is a weapon which is "hidden from common observation and readily available." Therefore a weapon in the console or glove box would be considered a concealed weapon and illegal w/o a CCW permit.

I dont know about VA, but it most other states I know of, having a gun in a car/vehicle is an entirely diff set of rules

[OldVet]

That's what I get for living in FL where permit or not, you can have a loaded firearm in a snapped holter, glovebox, or closed console, locked or not.

[hipthunder]

god bless the sunshine state

[Hiram25]

Well done! One more step towards where we should all be already!

[DaveH]

OldVet: I didn't follow the law's debate since I have a CCW and it was moot to me but: a concealed weapon, in Virginia, is a weapon which is "hidden from common observation and readily available." Therefore a weapon in the console or glove box would be considered a concealed weapon and illegal w/o a CCW permit.

The typical situation where it would not be academic for a CHP holder is when the CHP holder had a non-CHP passenger in the vehicle or on the boat and the CHP holder needed to disarm (to enter a Court House/posted hospital/etc) or a CHP holder wanted the firearm in a more water-proof container on a boat, yet readily available.

Police/prosecutes/etc have held that if the non-CHP passenger had ready access to the firearm they were guilty of possession of a concealed firearm w/o a permit -- even if it belonged to the CHP holder and he/she also had ready access to it.

So, I drive my handicapped wife to the hospital, un-holster, and place the loaded gun in the glove compartment, walk around the car to help her out and I just put her in violation of "case law" made by an anti-gun judge.

As is typical of Virginia (as a common-law Commonwealth w/ the legislative manta "If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it") this statuary law was to fix bad "case law" and return to the previous practice of years of "common law"

However, the primary focus, IMHO, is based on the fact that Virginia is an OC State. If you can possess it you can OC it.

Now, when the legal OCer needed to disarm (to enter a Court House/posted hospital/etc) it was relatively difficult to legally secure the gun w/o unloading it first or to secure it legally w/ any degree of discretion.

Ditto keeping it in more water-proof container on a boat, yet readily available, for the OCer.

IMHO -- it was a good law that should never had been needed, had there not been bad case-law.

[mrjam2jab]

The typical situation where it would not be academic for a CHP holder is when the CHP holder had a non-CHP passenger in the vehicle or on the boat and the CHP holder needed to disarm (to enter a Court House/posted hospital/etc) or a CHP holder wanted the firearm in a more water-proof container on a boat, yet readily available.

Police/prosecutes/etc have held that if the non-CHP passenger had ready access to the firearm they were guilty of possession of a concealed firearm w/o a permit -- even if it belonged to the CHP holder and he/she also had ready access to it.

So, I drive my handicapped wife to the hospital, un-holster, and place the loaded gun in the glove compartment, walk around the car to help her out and I just put her in violation of "case law" made by an anti-gun judge.

.

PA has an exception for that....even if my non-LTCF wife is driving the family car with my gun in the glove box she can not be charged with anything...

(13) Any person who is otherwise eligible to possess a firearm under this chapter and who is operating a motor vehicle which is registered in the person's name or the name of a spouse or parent and which contains a firearm for which a valid license has been issued pursuant to section 6109 to the spouse or parent owning the firearm.