Category: VA

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AG attorney general carry concealed FFL Immortal Arms license non-resident NRA-ILA reciprocacy Utah VA

Utah Non-Resident Concealed Carry License

Tomorrow I’ll be attending a firearms class that will broaden the number of states I’ll be able to legally carry while concealed.  Immortal Arms of Culpeper is giving the class.

The Virginia attorney general recently altered the reciprocacy agreements to where it negatively affects 26 other states.  They will not be able to carry concealed while in VA after 1 Feb 2016 (although open carry is an option).  5-6 of those states require VA reciprocacy, so those are immediately affected.  Two of those require you to be a permanent state citizen (ie, they don’t accept non-resident applications)  The Utah non-resident license remedies all of the negativity of the reciprocacy changes — all but the two that don’t allow non-resident applicants.

Here’s the deal.  This does not affect VA CC permit holders…not in VA, at least.  It does affect non-residents (visitors) who may want to carry concealed.  It will eventually affect VA CC permit holders that might want to visit NC (for example), as NC will more than likely deny reciprocacy with VA because of VA’s recent changes.  It’ll eventually affect most if not all of the 26 states that VA removed from it’s reciprocacy program.  Most people are complaining and we’re hoping that we can eventually reverse this decision, but it will take time.

Some options:

  • Get a Utah non-resident CC license
  • Get a VA non-resident CC license
  • Get a PA non-resident CC license
  • Get a NH non-resident CC license
  • Get a FL non-resident CC license

More reading on the issue is here.

Some people argue that one of those are better than the others.  IMO, there are no absolute answers.  It depends on what YOU want/need.  All of them have cons (they don’t all cover the same states).  Some have more prerequisites than others (Utah requires a fee for the class, FL’s license is far cheaper)  Pick which you think is best.  I opted for the Utah because it’s well-known and when I found out about the changes, I was able to immediately find an instructor who could give me a class within a week of the bad news.  With the other state licenses, I’d have had to wait.  Utah worked best for my requirements (being able to quickly obtain it).  None of the above options will give back South Carolina, by the way.

For those of you who visit VA frequently, look at getting the VA non-resident CC license or carry openly when visiting.  IMO, that’s the better way, unless you already have a license that will allow you to carry concealed after 1 Feb 2016.

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Virginia House Republican Leaders on Executive Order 50

VA House Republicans on VA governor Terry McAuliffe’s recent executive order:

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia House of Delegates Republican leaders responded Thursday to Executive Order 50, released by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. The Governor’s Executive Order can be found here.

“For years, we have consistently said the best way to keep Virginians safe is to enforce existing law,” said House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford). “We will monitor the work of the task force. The Governor’s policy on firearms in state buildings will not apply to the State Capitol or the General Assembly Building. Most importantly, the House of Delegates will continue to focus on investing in mental and behavioral health care improvements that will have a meaningful impact on individual lives and our communities as a whole.”

“It is curious that the Governor and Attorney General are putting such special emphasis on enforcing Virginia’s gun laws when they have been so eager to ignore other laws in the past,” said House Majority Leader Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights).  “We are confident that our local law enforcement officers and Commonwealth’s Attorneys are enforcing all of Virginia’s laws to their full extent. The Governor and Attorney General should take extra care before interfering with their work.”

“The Governor’s decision to prohibit firearms in state buildings is shortsighted. As we have seen again and again, such policies leave law-abiding citizens vulnerable to acts of senseless violence rather than protecting people from such tragedies,” said House Deputy Majority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah). “We will review this policy during the 2016 legislative session and take the appropriate action to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens.” 

I don’t understand how this is supposed to stop bad guys when current laws aren’t stopping them.  House majority leader Cox has it right…enforce the current gun laws before adding more.

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AZ CA California CCW CO firearms moving NM NV OR VA

Nope, Not Moving to CA!

I’ve had a change of heart and cancelled my plans to move to CA.  Why?  After thinking on it for months, I’ve determined that I’d be a fool to move to a state that limits it’s citizen in the manner that CA does (and not just with guns, but with everything).  After submitting for my VA CCW, I had a license in hand eight days later.  In CA, depending on the county, the CCW permit process could take up to 1.5 years, with a year wait almost guaranteed.  The gun laws are generally very restrictive, even if you’re not carrying.  10-round mags.  A highly restrictive list of guns that can be sold to you via retail.  Lots of red tape even selling used guns from one CA citizen to another.  I’ve lived there before…I didn’t like it then, either, and I wasn’t even into guns then.  Some advice:  never ever try to ignore yourself when your conscious is giving you bad vibes about a decision you’re trying to make.  I already feel much better about myself, now that I’ve decided not to move to that state.

I told my wife that I’d be receptive to moving to a border state (NV, AZ, OR) or states that are relatively close to CA (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico).  She only wants CA, but that’s not going to happen.  She thinks someone influenced my decision.  No, I just woke up.

So, I’ve got 10 guns now, and the only reason I bought the majority of them was because they aren’t available via retail in CA.  That doesn’t bother me since they’re excellent guns.  It does mean that I probably won’t be getting any guns for awhile, but that’s fine too.

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1911 carry CCW concealed Grand Power mag blocks magazines P11 SP2022 VA XD

Received my CCW Permit!

I submitted for my Virginia CCW on 20 February.  I received the permit in the mail on 28 February.  That’s eight (8) days turn-round!  Yes, I knew the VA process is simple in comparison to states such as California, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting their VA permit 8 days after submitting their application – don’t take that as a complaint, though…I’m VERY happy.

So, I’m now legal to carry concealed.  The studying of the laws and reading of others’ experiences has been ongoing and I’ll continue to do both until I become a CA resident.  My immediate tasks are to obtain several good in-waistband holsters.  This is difficult to do because I never considered which firearm I’d be carrying.  For now, I think I’ll carry my 1911s, but I also want to carry my XD subcompact, so I’ve ordered two IWB holsters for both the 1911s and the XD.  I also ordered an extra shell so that I can carry my SP2022.  Why did I pick these guns?  Because the 1911s have slide safeties, the XD has it’s grip safety, and the SP2022 has it’s DA/SA trigger (which I’m probably more acquainted with than the others’ safety mechanisms).  I’ll more than likely focus on carrying whichever is the least difficult to carry.  I’d rather have some type of safety on the guns I’ll be carrying, so that means I won’t be carrying the Glock 19 or the P320C (for now, at least).  You might not agree with the reasoning, but the choice is mine alone to make.

I ordered the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 IWB.  I actually ordered two of them, as Alien Gear is having a two holster deal.  I ordered two holsters and an extra shell for $67.  It will be 4-6 weeks before I see those holsters, though.  If I can find something local at a LGS, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Dick’s, or even Walmart, I’ll be lucky.

I also want to try to carry my other subcompact, the Grand Power P11, but I can’t find any holsters designed for it.  If I can find a decent generic holster that fits the P11 satisfactorily, I’ve the feeling that that particular gun would be ideal for me to carry.

Obtaining my VA CCW permit makes it more difficult to wrap my head around moving to CA.  We still remind ourselves that we can move to a state neighboring CA if we decided our liberties are being limited too much by CA.

I still have to order magazine blocks for the guns.  I’ll have to hack existing mag blocks for the GP P11, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.  If I find that they’re actually too difficult for me to hack, I’ll order 2-3 10-round mags from Eagle Imports.  My wife’s Ruger has one 10-round mag and one 12-round mag.  The 12-round mag has to go.  Her task is to find someone that’s willing to take it in exchange for their 10-round mag.  If it’s not gone by the time we’re ready to go to CA, I’ll either mail it to my parents or, worse case, throw it away…I’m not going to jail over a mag that my wife doesn’t want to get rid of.