The following local ordinances apply in Loudoun County:
- 684.01 SHOTGUNS OR RIFLES IN VEHICLES. (reference)
(a) No person shall transport, possess or carry a loaded shotgun or loaded rifle in any vehicle on any public street, road or highway within the County.
(b) Subsection (a) hereof shall not apply to duly authorized law enforcement officers or military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, or to any person who reasonably believes that a loaded rifle or loaded shotgun is necessary for his personal safety in the course of his employment or business.
(c) The penalty for a violation of this section shall not exceed a fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(Ord. 87-02. Passed 4-20-87; Ord. 05-04. Passed 5-10-05; Ord. 06-05. Passed 3-14-06; Ord. 09-12. Passed 6-16-09.)
- 684.03 DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS. (reference)
(a) (1) The Board of Supervisors prohibits the discharge of firearms, except for certain hunting activities provided herein, in the following area of the County: The area within a line following State Route 620 (Braddock Road) from the boundary with Fairfax County west to its intersection with State Route 659, then along State Route 659 north to its terminus at State Route 7, then following State Route 7 west to the corporate limits of the Town of Leesburg, then following the corporate limit line of the Town of Leesburg north and west to the Potomac River, then east along the Potomac River boundary with Maryland to the Fairfax County line, then southwest along the Fairfax County line to its intersection with State Route 620.
(2) Nothing herein shall prohibit the following hunting activities with firearms, subject to other applicable laws and regulations: A. Deer hunting with handguns, shotguns or muzzle-loading rifles using a single projectile; or B. All other hunting with rifles of .22 caliber rimfire or less, handguns, shotguns and muzzle-loading rifles using single or multiple projectiles.
(3) Nothing herein shall prohibit the outdoor shooting of sporting clays, subject to other applicable laws and regulations.(b) The discharge of firearms is prohibited within 50 yards of a highway in the primary or secondary system of State roads.
(c) The discharge of firearms is prohibited within 100 yards of any public park or school. Nothing in this section shall be enforced within a national or State park or forest or wildlife management area.
(d) The discharge of firearms is prohibited within 100 yards of a building with a current occupancy permit and/or regularly occupied structure unless the owner or authorized agent has given permission.
(e) The discharge of firearms for recreational or target shooting purposes shall be conducted in such a manner as to ensure that projectiles do not leave the boundaries of the property or parcel upon which the shooting is occurring, unless permission to do so has been granted by the adjacent landowner. A projectile leaving the boundaries of the property or parcel shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
(f) This section does not apply to the following actions:
(1) Any shooting or discharge of firearms upon a lawfully established target, trap or skeet range;
(2) The discharge of firearms by any duly authorized peace officer or law enforcement official acting in the proper performance of his or her duties;
(3) Any shooting or discharge of firearms upon a target range operated by any police department or other law enforcement agency;
(4) Any discharge of firearms in defense of one's life or to kill a dangerous or destructive wild animal;
(5) The discharge of blank cartridges in theatrical performances or sporting events or at military funerals or other military affairs; and
(6) A managed hunt to control the deer population under the supervision of the Federal, State, or local law enforcement or game management officials.(Ord. 01-02. Passed 4-16-01; Ord. 05-04. Passed 5-10-05; Ord. 06-05. Passed 3-14-06; Ord. 13-01. Passed 3-6-13; Ord. 19-18. Passed 12-11-19.)
- 684.04 POSSESSION OF FIREARMS ON COUNTY PROPERTY. (reference)
(a) The possession, carrying, or transportation of any firearms or ammunition is prohibited in:
(1) Any building, or part thereof, owned or used by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County, for governmental purposes;
(2) Any public park owned or operated by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County;
(3) Any recreation or community center operated by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County; and
(4) Those parts of any building, not owned by the County or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the locality, being used for a governmental purpose; this section shall apply only to that part of such building actually being used for a governmental purpose.(b) Pursuant to this section, the County may implement security measures that are designed to reasonably prevent the unauthorized access of such buildings, parks, recreation or community centers by a person with any firearms or ammunition, such as the use of metal detectors and increased use of security personnel.
(c) Notice of the prohibitions contained in this section shall be posted: (i) at all entrances of any building, or part thereof, owned or used by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County, for governmental purposes; (ii) at all entrances of any public park owned or operated by the locality, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County; and (iii) at all entrances of any recreation or community center facilities operated by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County.
(d) The prohibitions listed in this section shall not apply to:
(1) Sworn law enforcement personnel;
(2) Private security personnel employed or contracted by the County, or an authority or other governmental entity created or controlled by the County, when such personnel are working in or at any location listed in subparagraph (a) above, and who are authorized to carry firearms as part of their duties;
(3) Security personnel at permitted special events engaged by private entities conducting the special event and approved by the County through the special event permit application process;
(4) Active duty military personnel acting within the scope of their official duties;
(5) Activities of (i) a Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program operated at a public or private institution of higher education in accordance with the provisions of 10 U.S.C. § 2101 et seq. or (ii) any intercollegiate athletics program operated by a public or private institution of higher education and governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or any club sports team recognized by a public or private institution of higher education where the sport engaged in by such program or team involves the use of a firearm. Such activities shall follow strict guidelines developed by such institutions for these activities and shall be conducted under the supervision of staff officials of such institutions;
(6) Educational programs and events, including historical reenactments, which are conducted or permitted by the County or any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County, when such educational programs or events involve the use or display of firearms that are incapable of discharging a projectile;
(7) Individuals participating in managed deer hunts and other wildlife management events conducted by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County, the Commonwealth of Virginia or the United States government;
(8) Individuals who are authorized to carry a concealed weapon pursuant to the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 926B and 926C, as amended; or
(9) An otherwise lawfully possessed firearm or ammunition that is stored out of sight in a locked private vehicle lawfully parked on County property.(e) In public parks owned or operated by the County, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the County, individuals who possess a valid concealed handgun permit may conceal carry firearms pursuant to such permit, but in no case may they carry a semiautomatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or is designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock, or a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered.
(Ord. 21-02. Passed 3-12-21)