State (and National) Forests are not safe places.  Between the drug growers and the other seedy characters that use the public lands for their illegal activities... the average family can easily find themselves stumbling into a serious confrontation not far from the beaten path.  Ask any Forest Ranger about the variety of visitors to these lands.   Bless these guys for they are extremely understaffed.

Those that carry handguns do so one of two ways... "illegally" (the type you don't want to run into)... and "legally", especially those with Concealed Handguns Permits that have been subjected to background checks, training and verified to never have committed a felony.

To the postings against this proposal... Consider the ratio of criminal to law-abiding handguns there today.  There is a word for those who meet the ONLY handguns taken into the forest today.    Victim.

Forest lands within the Virginia (or any state) should be aligned with the laws throughout the state.  We are the good guys here!!   We just want consistency and the recognition of our rights.   Our presence makes you safer (Yes... many of us will defend YOU "the unarmed" as well)... we've proven it overwhelmingly everywhere it is tried.  That's evident in more and more states passing CHP laws.

This "Gun Free Crime Zone".... as it exists today... serves only the bad guys who ignore the law and carry firearms anyway.