General Information

General Information

It is your personal responsibility to check local rules and your state’s reciprocity agreements with either Virginia or Maryland before you travel. 

D.C. – despite the 2008 Supreme Court’s ruling, the nation’s capital laws are still extremely anti-gun, so don’t test the system unless you want to hurt our cause.

NO GUNS ALLOWED IN D.C.

Out of Virginia, Maryland and D.C., Virginia is by far the most gun-owner friendly place to live in and to visit.  Concealed carry is not allowed in places that serve alcohol, - open carry is allowed, but the owner has a discretion to ask you to leave.  Open carry is allowed in Virginia without a permit to anyone who can legally posses a hand-gun.  However, there are some exceptions, such as federal parks (this right will be restored in late February 2010), schools, and court houses -- and some local jurisdictions (Falls Church) may give you a hard time about it. 

In Maryland, there is no open carry, and concealed carry permits are hard to obtain.  If you are traveling by car, your weapon must be unloaded and secured (i.e., in the trunk). 

From the WMATA website:  “Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) – its police officers have tri-state jurisdiction with responsibility for a variety of law enforcement and public safety functions in transit facilities throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.  The MTPD is nationally accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. and officer candidates are trained to the standards established for police in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.”  It appears you can legally carry your firearm in Virginia including on metro trains and buses.  If travelling by metro train or bus, pay attention and make sure you Do Not go to D.C. or Maryland – do not go past Rosslyn (on Orange and Blue line) and Pentagon (on Yellow line) stations on metrorail.