(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)