SB 581

            
2020 SESSION


20107458D

SENATE BILL NO. 581

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

on February 3, 2020)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Howell)

A BILL to amend and reenact � 18.2-56.2 of the Code of Virginia,
relating to allowing access to firearms by minors; penalty.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That � 18.2-56.2 of the Code of Virginia is amended and
reenacted as follows:

� 18.2-56.2. Allowing access to firearms by minors; penalty.

A. It shall be is unlawful for any person to
recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger
the life or limb of any child person under the age of fourteen
18. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be
is guilty of a Class 3 1 misdemeanor.

This subsection shall not apply to conduct in the course of
hunting and trapping, as defined in � 29.1-100, by lawful means and in a lawful
manner.

B. It shall be is unlawful for any person
knowingly to authorize a child under the age of twelve 12 to use
a firearm except when the child is under the supervision of an adult. Any
person violating this subsection shall be is guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor. For purposes of this subsection, "adult" shall mean
means a parent, guardian, person standing in loco parentis to the child,
or a person twenty-one 21 years of age or over
older who has the permission of the parent, guardian, or person standing in
loco parentis to supervise the child in the use of a firearm.