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Virginia Announces Changes to Permit Reciprocity Agreements

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Since the time of this article’s posting, the changes to reciprocity listed in this article have been changed and postponed by the Governor of Virginia. Please read more recently published articles to learn more.

The Attorney General of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, recently conducted a review of the state’s concealed carry permit reciprocity agreements and decided changes must be made.

This review ended with Virginia deciding that 25 states did not meet required reciprocity standards. Virginia will not recognize concealed carry permits from these states starting February 1, 2016.

The 25 states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

 

I want to carry concealed in other states using my Virginia permit. What does this mean for me?

6 states currently require that a reciprocity agreement be in effect in order to recognize the Virginia permit. With these new changes, your Virginia permit now won’t be recognized. Those states are: Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Wyoming.

Of these 6 states, Florida, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina already did not honor the non-resident Virginia permit.

 

I want to carry concealed in Virginia. What does this mean for me?

If you have a permit issued by one of the 25 states listed above, you can no longer carry concealed in Virginia.

According to the office of the Virginia Attorney General, “This update does not affect which Virginia residents or nonresidents are qualified to receive a Virginia concealed handgun permit, nor does it affect the validity of any permits that have been issued by Virginia.”

Concealed handgun permits from Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia will continue to be recognized, as their process for issuing concealed handgun permits is adequate to prevent someone who would be denied a permit in Virginia from obtaining one.

Permit holders of the 25 affected states must now obtain a Virginia permit in order to carry there.

 

I don’t currently have a Virginia permit, but might want one in the future. What does this mean for me?

As it stands now,  4 states will not honor the Virginia permit. This may or may not change in response to Virginia’s new reciprocity standards. Those states are: Delaware, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. This update does not affect permit holders in these states.

 

Why did Virginia announce these changes?

According to Virginia state law, the Attorney General must periodically review regulations to ensure that other states meet Virginia’s standards for permit reciprocity agreements.

What are those standards? Well the permit issuing state must have sufficient laws to to prevent someone who is disqualified under Virginia law from receiving a concealed handgun permit.

If a state doesn’t have legal permit disqualifiers equal to those of Virginia, permits issued by that state will not be recognized.

 

To read the official announcement from the Virginia Attorney General, click here.

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