Virginian's are currently allowed to carry concealed weapons with a permit or carry weapons openly without permits virtually everywhere in the Commonwealth.  There are very, very few incidents related to citizens lawfully exercising these rights in Virginia and there have been cases where armed citizens have acted to defend themselves or others.  I also strongly believe Virginia's shall issue concealed carry laws and recognition of open carry rights are a significant deterent to criminals.

There is no reason to believe carrying weapons in state forests under the same laws as the rest of the state will lead to problems and there is no reason to restrict the rights of law abiding citizens just because they happen to be in a state forest.

I strongly support Mr. Van Cleave's petition.

Best regards, Russ Krull

Centreville, VA