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2015 SESSION
15101291DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 18.2-308.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 18.2-308.1. Possession of firearm, stun weapon, or other weapon on school property prohibited.
A. If any person possesses any (i) stun weapon as defined in this section; (ii) knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches; or (iii) weapon, including a weapon of like kind, designated in subsection A of § 18.2-308, other than a firearm; upon (a) the property of any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds; (b) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activities are taking place; or (c) any school bus owned or operated by any such school, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. If any person possesses any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material while such person is upon (i) any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds; (ii) that portion of any property open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities while such functions or activities are taking place; or (iii) any school bus owned or operated by any such school, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
C. If any person possesses any firearm designed or intended to expel a projectile by action of an explosion of a combustible material within a public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school building and intends to use, or attempts to use, such firearm, or displays such weapon in a threatening manner, such person shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony and sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years to be served consecutively with any other sentence.
The exemptions set out in § 18.2-308 shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, to the provisions of this section. The provisions of [ this
section subsections A and B ] shall not apply
to (i) persons who possess such weapon or weapons as a part of the school's
curriculum or activities; (ii) a person possessing a knife customarily used for
food preparation or service and using it for such purpose; (iii) persons who
possess such weapon or weapons as a part of any program sponsored or
facilitated by either the school or any organization authorized by the school
to conduct its programs either on or off the school premises; (iv) any
law-enforcement officer; (v) any person who possesses a knife or blade which he
uses customarily in his trade; (vi) a person who possesses an unloaded firearm
that is in a closed container, or a knife having a metal blade, in or upon a
motor vehicle, or an unloaded shotgun or rifle in a firearms rack in or upon a
motor vehicle; (vii) a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit and
possesses or stores a concealed handgun while in a motor vehicle
in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular ingress or egress
to the school; or (viii) an armed security officer, licensed pursuant to
Article 4 (§ 9.1-138 et seq.) of Chapter 1 of Title 9.1, hired by a private or
religious school for the protection of students and employees as authorized by
such school; or (ix) a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit and
possesses a concealed handgun upon any public, private, or religious
elementary, middle, or high school, including buildings and grounds, outside
normal school hours [ and when no school-sponsored functions or
extracurricular activities are taking place ] . For the purposes
of this paragraph, "weapon" includes a knife having a metal blade of
three inches or longer and "closed container" includes a locked
vehicle trunk.
As used in this section:
"Stun weapon" means any device that emits a momentary or pulsed output, which is electrical, audible, optical or electromagnetic in nature and which is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person.