The Commonwealth of Virginia’s House of Delegates, which is the state legislature of Virginia, is considering a new bill put forward to the House of Delegates by GOP Delegate Nick Freitas. The bill would make the Commonwealth of Virginia the 26th state with a ‘Constitutional Carry’ law. . Freitas pre-filed the legislation Tuesday, according to Breitbart.
“Constitutional Carry” is when a state allows a concealed firearm to be carried without a permit. The State of Georgia recently implemented a Constitutional Carry law, allowing its law-abiding citizens to carry firearms concealed without having to ask the state for a permit.
The move to being a Constitutional Carry state would make sense for the Commonwealth of Virginia, as it is already an “Open Carry” state that allows non-concealed weapons to be carried without a permit. But, if one is carrying a pistol or other firearm in an “open carry” manner and some piece of clothing moves and conceals the weapon, that’s a felony. Noting that that doesn’t make much sense and would be fixed by Constitutional Carry on Twitter, Freitas said:
In Virginia, you can open carry as is your constitutional right. But if you put a jacket over your firearm or place it in your purse you have broken the law. It’s time to join 25 other states and pass constitutional carry in VA.
The summary of the bill Freitas introduced to the House of Delegates provides that “Carrying a concealed handgun; permit not required. Allows any person who is otherwise eligible to obtain a concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun without a permit anywhere he may lawfully carry a handgun openly within the Commonwealth.”
Breitbart’s AWR Hawkins, reporting on the other states that have adopted Constitutional Carry, notes that “Constitutional carry is currently the law of the land in 25 states. Those states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.”
The DC Enquirer, commenting on the bill and its prospects of succeeding, along with the importance of its passing for firearm rights in the United States, reported that:
The proposed law, House Bill No. 1801, defines the bill as, “A BILL to amend and reenact § 18.2-308 of the Code of Virginia, relating to carrying a concealed handgun; permit not required.”
If the law passes, it would prove a pivotal turning point making Constitutional Carry, in line with the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the law of the land in more than half of the states. Making the move even more impactful is the fact that Virginia is one of the most populous states in the country with it ranking 12th in size by population.
Since the beginning of the Virginia legislative session in 2022, Republicans hold a 52/48 majority under Speaker Todd Gilbert, however, the Virginia State Senate is currently led by Democrats with a 22/18 majority, so the bill would require bipartisan support in order to make it to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R-VA) desk.
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