Virginia offers online gun classes for permits to anyone in U.S.

Virginia awards non-residents concealed-carry permits

Virginia is issuing a growing number concealed-carry gun permits to people in other states and this could be because it's as easy as clicking on a mouse.

A new trend of online gun courses allows applicants to get a permit from Virginia that is valid in their state, but without having to meet tougher requirements, such as firing an actual gun with an instuctor.

Recommended Videos




Virginia State Police issued 1,632 concealed-carry permits to nonresidents through the first half of 2012, topping the previous year's total of 1,321 nonresident permits.

There are no hard numbers on the cause because state police do not track how many people take online training compared to other types of training.

But state police note the increase came after Virginia law was changed and follows online marketing to other states.