New Bill Could Kill Virginia’s CCW Reciprocity

A new bill has been filed by Dan Helmer, a Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 40th district, which has the potential to destroy Virginia’s reciprocity with other states.

Back in Dec. 2015, Virginia’s Attorney General, Mark R. Herring (D), announced that he was no longer recognizing other state’s concealed carry permits saying that they make it too easy for people with criminal or violent histories to obtain a concealed weapons permit.

Fast forward to the end of Jan. 2016, The AG announced that these changes would not be going into effect due to a “bipartisan deal” the Democrats and Republicans reached.

And then, on February 26, 2016, Governor Terry McAuliffee signed H.B. 1163 and S.B. 610 which allows anyone with a concealed carry permit issued from any other state to carry concealed in Virginia.

Concealed carrier rejoiced. Not only did that allow law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits and licenses from other states carry in the state of Virginia, but this also helped out citizens of Virginia with permits as well. Some states will allow another state’s permit holders carry in their state as long as said state accepts its citizen’s permit holders. Hence the word reciprocity.

This new bill that was introduced on Jan. 6, 2020, HB 569, will reverse the current law. Virginia is being attacked on all fronts. I will be following this closely so stay tuned for updated on this bill.

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Here is the bill’s summary:

Out-of-state concealed handgun permits; reciprocity. Reinstates the prior law providing that the holder of an out-of-state concealed handgun permit who is at least 21 years of age is authorized to carry a concealed handgun in Virginia if the other state (i) has a 24-hour-a-day means of verification of the validity of the permits issued in that state and (ii) has requirements and qualifications that are adequate to prevent possession of a permit by persons who would be denied a permit in Virginia. Under current law, the holder of an out-of-state concealed handgun permit who is at least 21 years of age is authorized to carry a concealed handgun in Virginia if (a) the other state has a means of verification of the validity of the permits issued in that state, accessible 24 hours a day, if available; (b) the person carries a government-issued photo identification and displays it upon demand of a law-enforcement officer; and (c) the person has not previously had a Virginia concealed handgun permit revoked. The bill states that the Attorney General shall (1) determine whether states meet the requirements and qualifications of the bill, (2) maintain a registry of such states, and (3) make the registry available to law-enforcement officers for investigative purposes. The bill further requires the Attorney General to review the determinations of whether states meet the requirements and qualifications of the bill and update the registry accordingly every two years. The bill removes the requirement for the Superintendent of State Police to enter into agreements for reciprocal recognition with other states that require an agreement to be in place before the state will recognize a Virginia concealed handgun permit as valid in the state and provides that the Attorney General may enter into agreements for reciprocal recognition with any state qualifying for recognition. The bill also reinstates the recognition of certain Maryland concealed handgun permits and eliminates the requirement that the Superintendent of State Police enter into agreements for reciprocal recognition of concealed handgun permits or licenses with other states where agreements were in existence on December 1, 2015.