Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §18.2-287.4 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-287.4. Carrying loaded firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry a loaded (a) semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock or (b) shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered on or about his person on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public in the Cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach or in the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, or Prince William.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to
law-enforcement officers, licensed security guards, or military
personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, or; any
person having a valid concealed handgun permit or to; any person
actually engaged in lawful hunting or lawful recreational shooting activities
at an established shooting range or shooting contest; or any person employed
by the Commonwealth or any locality while such person is at his place of
employment or traveling to and from such place of employment. Any person
violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor.
The exemptions set forth in §§18.2-308 and 18.2-308.016 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions of this section.