Concealed carry in churches allowed in Virginia
There is one less gun free zone in Virginia:
Virginians can carry firearms into churches and other places of worship while services are being conducted, but churches also have the right to ban guns from their premises, according to an advisory opinion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
Cuccinelli issued the opinion late last week in response to a state legislator's inquiry about a Virginia law that prohibits individuals from carrying firearms into religious services without "good and sufficient reason." Violation of the law is a misdemeanor.
"It is my opinion that carrying a weapon for personal protection constitutes a good and sufficient reason under the statute to carry a weapon into a place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held there," Cuccinelli wrote in the April 8 opinion. "It is further my opinion that places of worship can restrict or ban firearms from their premises." . . .
Labels: ConcealedCarry, GunFreeZone
posted by John Lott at 3:58 PM
2 Comments:
This follows numerous inquiries to state legislators and senators since the law was passed. It amazes me that the law was passed in the first place without adequately defining those terms. Leaving it to judges to decide what is "good and sufficient" is going to be a dice roll until the law itself is clarified.
Thanks, Braxton. Sometimes these vague terms are thrown in so as to get the laws passed. Possibly they couldn't get enough votes if the bill had been written more straightforwardly.
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