                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POSSESSION OR TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS, FIREARMS AMMUNITION, STUN WEAPONS,
EXPLOSIVES OR CONCEALED WEAPONS BY CONVICTED FELONS; PENALTIES; PETITION FOR
RESTORATION ORDER; WHEN ISSUED (§ 18.2-308.2)

A. It shall be unlawful for (i) any person who has been convicted of a felony;
(ii) any person adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile 14 years of age or older at
the time of the offense of murder in violation of &#xA7; 18.2-31 or 18.2-32,
kidnapping in violation of &#xA7; 18.2-47, robbery by the threat or presentation
of firearms in violation of &#xA7; 18.2-58, or rape in violation of &#xA7;
18.2-61; or (iii) any person under the age of 29 who was adjudicated delinquent
as a juvenile 14 years of age or older at the time of the offense of a
delinquent act which would be a felony if committed by an adult, other than
those felonies set forth in clause (ii), whether such conviction or adjudication
occurred under the laws of the Commonwealth, or any other state, the District of
Columbia, the United States or any territory thereof, to knowingly and
intentionally possess or transport any firearm or ammunition for a firearm, any
stun weapon as defined by &#xA7; 18.2-308.1, or any explosive material, or to
knowingly and intentionally carry about his person, hidden from common
observation, any weapon described in subsection A of &#xA7; 18.2-308. However,
such person may possess in his residence or the curtilage thereof a stun weapon
as defined by &#xA7; 18.2-308.1. Any person who violates this section shall be
guilty of a Class 6 felony. However, any person who violates this section by
knowingly and intentionally possessing or transporting any firearm and who was
previously convicted of a violent felony as defined in &#xA7; 17.1-805 shall be
sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years. Any person
who violates this section by knowingly and intentionally possessing or
transporting any firearm and who was previously convicted of any other felony
within the prior 10 years shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of
imprisonment of two years. The mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment
prescribed for violations of this section shall be served consecutively with any
other sentence.

B. The prohibitions of subsection A shall not apply to (i) any person who
possesses a firearm, ammunition for a firearm, explosive material or other
weapon while carrying out his duties as a member of the Armed Forces of the
United States or of the National Guard of Virginia or of any other state, (ii)
any law-enforcement officer in the performance of his duties, (iii) any person
who has been pardoned or whose political disabilities have been removed pursuant
to Article V, Section 12 of the Constitution of Virginia provided the Governor,
in the document granting the pardon or removing the person&#8217;s political
disabilities, may expressly place conditions upon the reinstatement of the
person&#8217;s right to ship, transport, possess or receive firearms, (iv) any
person whose right to possess firearms or ammunition has been restored under the
law of another state subject to conditions placed upon the reinstatement of the
person&#8217;s right to ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms by such
state, or (v) any person adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile who has completed
a term of service of no less than two years in the Armed Forces of the United
States and, if such person has been discharged from the Armed Forces of the
United States, received an honorable discharge and who is not otherwise
prohibited under clause (i) or (ii) of subsection A.

C. Any person prohibited from possessing, transporting, or carrying a firearm,
ammunition for a firearm, or a stun weapon under subsection A may petition the
circuit court of the jurisdiction in which he resides or, if the person is not a
resident of the Commonwealth, the circuit court of any county or city where such
person was last convicted of a felony or adjudicated delinquent of a
disqualifying offense pursuant to subsection A, for a restoration order that
unconditionally authorizes possessing, transporting, or carrying a firearm,
ammunition for a firearm, or a stun weapon; however, no person who has been
convicted of a felony shall be qualified to petition for such an order unless
his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate
authority. A copy of the petition shall be mailed or delivered to the attorney
for the Commonwealth for the jurisdiction where the petition was filed who shall
be entitled to respond and represent the interests of the Commonwealth. The
court shall conduct a hearing if requested by either party. The court may, in
its discretion and for good cause shown, grant such petition and issue a
restoration order. Such order shall contain the petitioner&#8217;s name and date
of birth. The clerk shall certify and forward forthwith to the Central Criminal
Records Exchange (CCRE), on a form provided by the CCRE, a copy of the order to
be accompanied by a complete set of the petitioner&#8217;s fingerprints. The
Department of State Police shall forthwith enter the petitioner&#8217;s name and
description in the CCRE so that the order&#8217;s existence will be made known
to law-enforcement personnel accessing the computerized criminal history records
for investigative purposes. The provisions of this section relating to firearms,
ammunition for a firearm, and stun weapons shall not apply to any person who has
been issued a restoration order pursuant to this subsection.

C1. Any person who was prohibited from possessing, transporting or carrying
explosive material under subsection A may possess, transport or carry such
explosive material if his right to possess, transport or carry explosive
material has been restored pursuant to federal law.

C2. The prohibitions of subsection A shall not prohibit any person other than a
person convicted of an act of violence as defined in &#xA7; 19.2-297.1 or a
violent felony as defined in subsection C of &#xA7; 17.1-805 from possessing,
transporting, or carrying (i) antique firearms or (ii) black powder in a
quantity not exceeding five pounds if it is intended to be used solely for
sporting, recreational, or cultural purposes in antique firearms. For the
purposes of this subsection, &#8220;antique firearms&#8221; means any firearm
described in subdivision 3 of the definition of &#8220;antique firearm&#8221; in
subsection F of &#xA7; 18.2-308.2:2.

D. For the purpose of this section:
			&#8220;Ammunition for a firearm&#8221; means the combination of a cartridge,
projectile, primer, or propellant designed for use in a firearm other than an
antique firearm as defined in &#xA7; 18.2-308.2:2.
			&#8220;Explosive material&#8221; means any chemical compound mixture, or
device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion; the
term includes, but is not limited to, dynamite and other high explosives, black
powder, pellet powder, smokeless gun powder, detonators, blasting caps and
detonating cord but shall not include fireworks or permissible fireworks as
defined in &#xA7; 27-95.

HISTORY: 1979, c. 474; 1982, c. 515; 1983, c. 233; 1986, cc. 409, 641; 1987, c.
108; 1988, c. 237; 1989, cc. 514, 531; 1993, cc. 468, 926; 1994, cc. 859, 949;
1999, cc. 829, 846; 2001, cc. 811, 854; 2002, c. 362; 2003, c. 110; 2004, cc.
429, 461, 995; 2005, cc. 600, 833; 2007, c. 519; 2008, c. 752; 2009, c. 236;
2010, c. 781; 2015, cc. 200, 767; 2016, c. 337; 2017, c. 767; 2019, c. 203;
2020, cc. 1111, 1112.