HB1772: Concealed handguns; prohibited at airports, exception.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1772
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 18.2-287.01 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 18.2-287.01. Carrying weapon in air carrier airport terminal.
It shall be is unlawful for any person to
possess or transport into any air carrier airport terminal in the Commonwealth
any (i) gun or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or
projectile of any kind, (ii) frame, receiver, muffler, silencer, missile,
projectile or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon, and (iii)
any other dangerous weapon, including explosives, stun weapons as defined in §
18.2-308.1, and those weapons specified in subsection A of § 18.2-308, except that a person entitled
to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to
Article 6.1 (§ 18.2-307.1 et seq.) of Chapter 7 may lawfully possess or
transport a concealed handgun in any air carrier airport terminal. Any such weapon shall be subject to seizure by a
law-enforcement officer. A violation of this section is
punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any weapon possessed or transported in
violation of this section shall be subject to
seizure by a law-enforcement officer and shall be forfeited
to the Commonwealth and disposed of as provided in § 19.2-386.28.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any police officer, sheriff, law-enforcement agent or official, or conservation police officer, or conservator of the peace employed by the air carrier airport, nor shall the provisions of this section apply to any passenger of an airline who, to the extent otherwise permitted by law, transports a lawful firearm, weapon, or ammunition into or out of an air carrier airport terminal for the sole purposes, respectively, of (i) presenting such firearm, weapon, or ammunition to U.S. Customs agents in advance of an international flight, in order to comply with federal law, (ii) checking such firearm, weapon, or ammunition with his luggage, or (iii) retrieving such firearm, weapon, or ammunition from the baggage claim area.
Any other statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance specifically addressing the possession or transportation of weapons in any airport in the Commonwealth shall be invalid, and this section shall control.