An online route to CPL/CCW

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MikePGS

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I apologize if this has been posted before. I also apologize if this is in the wrong forum, please feel free to move it accordingly.

Today I saw an interesting post from the GOA twitter account. (tweet led to this link http://gunowners.wordpress.com/2012...ot-created-equally-in-regards-to-your-rights/) It said that in Virginia it's possible to get a CPL entirely online for a fee of 39.99 with a yearly cost of 8 dollars for maintenance. Once the test is passed, you include it with your application, fingerprints for a background check, and the $39.99 fee. Since Virginia is a “shall-issue” state they must issue you a permit (that is valid for 5 years) unless you have some disqualifier, such as being a felon. Some of the sample questions of a test with 15-20 true or false questions were things like "“The first step in cleaning your firearm is to make sure it is unloaded,” and “Always keep firearms pointed in a safe direction,”. Unfortunately Michigan is not a state that has reciprocity with Virginia (you have to be a resident of the state you have the CPL in) but some of the states that this will work in (according to http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry_permit_reciprocity_maps.html) are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. The same cite also goes to say that Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina only honor permits from residents of the issuing states, so obviously that would not apply to residents of that state. As always the caveat that you need to research this yourself to ensure it is as I "think" it is, but for some of you this may in fact be very good news.

Just to note there was a lot of cutting and pasting, I did not do this for the sake of plagiarism, but rather to make it as true to the original post as possible. All credit is due to the original poster of the link. If this benefits you in some way, why not throw a few bucks to GOA?
 
No need to go through GOA. Virginia law specifically says that online classes qualify for the training requirement. The $8 "maintenance" appears to be just a donation to GOA. Just do a google search for something like "Virginia online firearm safety course" and you'll see numerous sites offering online courses.
 
The online course is for the training requirement. In Virginia you can do it online or take a class in person. The wife and I took a class in person at a local gun shop, cost was $50 each. This was the procedure when I got my Concealed Handgun Permit in 2009. You had to take your certificate showing you completed the course and your drivers license to the Circuit Court Clerks Office, fill our the State Police form SP-248, go to the Police Dept and get finger printed, take the fingerprint card and application back to the Clerks office, pay the $50 fee. There is a background check done, local Sheriff signs off on your permit application, Judge of the Circuit Court approves it and you are notified by the Clerk of the Court to come pick up your permit. The whole process took about three weeks and total cost was $100 each. Got a letter from the Suffolk Police Dept. about two months after I picked up my permit stating that if I would like my fingerprint card I could come pick it up as they cannot, by law, keep them for any other purpose other than to obtain criminal history record information. Cards not picked up within 21 days are distroyed. My wife and I picked up ours just to keep them with all our records concerning the CHP process.
 
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go to the Police Dept and get finger printed, take the fingerprint card and application back to the Clerks office

As of July 1, 2012 the Legislature has wiped out the option for localities to require finger printing to obtain a CCW Permit
 
If word gets around that Virginia permits are "easy to get," some other states might be tempted to pull their reciprocity with Virginia. Not good for holders of Virginia permits.
 
If word gets around that Virginia permits are "easy to get," some other states might be tempted to pull their reciprocity with Virginia. Not good for holders of Virginia permits.

I believe the legislature was working on a "Consitutional Carry" bill, but obviously that did not get through. Then they could have made a separate set of rules for a "reciprocity permit" which would have been harder to obtain.
 
Although the entire process is not available on line (The application must be done in person) Here in Iowa. The "test" you mentioned was and it made it possible to get my CCW as I simply did not have the time to take a 8 hour course (or is it 5 I cant remember) due to my work schedule and the clases were not held on weekends (my only days off).

I would have perfered to take a more thurough class however time just did not permit it.
 
Yes it is possible, and yes it is legal in many states to get the VA license. However there is a federal law that I believe says you can't carry within 1000 feet of a school unless you have a permit from your state. I looked into getting the VA license but because of the federal law I couldn't even leave my neighborhood. Just something to check into.
 
Yes it is possible, and yes it is legal in many states to get the VA license. However there is a federal law that I believe says you can't carry within 1000 feet of a school unless you have a permit from your state. I looked into getting the VA license but because of the federal law I couldn't even leave my neighborhood. Just something to check into.

18 USC 922 (q)(2):
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922

(2)
(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.
(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the possession of a firearm—
(i) on private property not part of school grounds;
(ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license;
(iii) that is—
(I) not loaded; and
(II) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle;
(iv) by an individual for use in a program approved by a school in the school zone;
(v) by an individual in accordance with a contract entered into between a school in the school zone and the individual or an employer of the individual;
(vi) by a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity; or
(vii) that is unloaded and is possessed by an individual while traversing school premises for the purpose of gaining access to public or private lands open to hunting, if the entry on school premises is authorized by school authorities.
 
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