[Amended 8-18-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-03]
A. Where prohibited.
(1) It
shall be unlawful for any person to shoot any pistol, rifle, shotgun
or other firearm within the City or to do so in the county within
1/4 mile of a public playground or public school which is situated
in the City.
(2) It
shall be unlawful for any person to shoot any BB gun or air rifle
(pneumatic gun) in or on City property unless at a facility approved
for shooting ranges.
(3) BB
guns or air rifles may be discharged on private property with permission
of the owner or legal possessor thereof when conducted with reasonable
care to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the property.
[Amended 8-18-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-03]
Subject to Subsection A below, it shall be unlawful
for any person to throw or discharge in or into any street or public
place any stones, sticks, snowballs or other dangerous missiles, or
to discharge arrows, nails or bullets from bows or crossbows or other
devices.
A. Subject
to the approval of the designated representative of the City Police
Department and applicable state game regulations, bow hunting for
deer within the limits of the City of Lexington on private property
shall be permitted during regular state hunting seasons, including,
if applicable, urban archery hunting seasons, provided that the owner
of any approved property has given express written permission to hunt.
Any such hunting activity shall be additionally governed by the following:
(1) Landowners
seeking approval for inclusion in this deer hunting program shall
provide written notice to adjacent landowners indicating that such
approval has been requested. The City of Lexington shall provide information
to the press concerning those parcels of land that are or will be
considered for the program and subsequently those that have been approved.
(2) Hunters
must abide by all applicable Virginia hunting regulations, including
but not limited to bag limits and tagging/checking requirements.
(3) In
addition to the urban archery season, archery hunting is also allowed
during the early archery season, the general firearms season, and
during the late archery season.
(4) The
landowner must apply for an annual permit which is free from the Lexington
Police Department Special Enforcement Officer and register the hunter
for that property.
(5) When hunting, all hunters must have in their possession written permission from the landowner and a copy of the registration referenced in Subsection
A(2).
(6) Hunting
shall be from an elevated tree stand only with a minimum height of
12 feet.
(7) Hunting
is restricted to land that is one or more acres which is either owned
or leased with permission from the landlord. Property may be aggregated
to meet the acreage requirement.
(8) There
shall be no hunting within 100 yards of a dwelling on an adjacent
property, street, sidewalk, alley, public land or public place.
[Amended 7-19-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-13]
(9) No
hunter shall discharge a bow over any street, sidewalk, alley, public
land or public place.
(10) Hunters
shall be responsible for disposing of deer carcasses appropriately.
[Amended 7-19-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-13]
(11) The
urban archery season is restricted to antlerless deer only.
(12) Deer
must be checked either by calling 1-866-GOT-GAME, online, or at a
big game check-in station.
(13) All
hunters shall receive approval from adjacent landowners in the event
that they need to retrieve a deer prior to going upon the land.
[Amended 7-19-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-13]
(14) Each
hunter and landowner shall be jointly and severally liable for any
damage caused by a deer injured by said hunter when hunting on the
landowner's property.
(15) No
person shall hunt deer within the City limits with a dog or dogs.
(16) Either
the City Manager or the Chief of Police may add additional terms and
conditions to the hunting rights enumerated herein as the situation
warrants.
If any person sells, barters, gives or furnishes
or causes to be sold, bartered, given or furnished to any minor under
18 years of age a gun, rifle, air rifle, pistol, cartridge, dirk,
switchblade knife or bowie knife, having good cause to believe him
to be a minor under 18 years of age, such person shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor.
[Amended by Ord. No. 89-20; 5-17-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-16]
A. If any person carries about his person, hidden from
common observation, (1) any pistol, revolver, or other weapon designed
or intended to propel a missile of any kind by action of an explosion
of any combustible material; (2) any dirk, bowie knife, switchblade
knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, slingshot, spring stick, metal
knucks, or blackjack; (3) any flailing instrument consisting of two
or more rigid parts connected in such a manner as to allow them to
swing freely, which may be known as a nun chahka, nun chuck, nunchaku,
shuriken, or fighting chain; (4) any disc, of whatever configuration,
having at least two points or pointed blades which is designed to
be thrown or propelled and which may be known as a throwing star or
oriental dart; or (5) any weapon of like kind as those enumerated
in this subsection, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. A
second violation of this subsection or a conviction under this subsection
subsequent to any conviction under any substantially similar ordinance
of any county, city or town shall be punishable as a Class 6 felony,
and a third or subsequent such violation shall be punishable as a
Class 5 felony. For the purpose of this subsection, a weapon shall
be deemed to be hidden from common observation when it is observable
but is of such deceptive appearance as to disguise the weapon's true
nature.
C. The foregoing provisions of this section shall not
be construed to apply to any persons who are lawfully authorized to
carry any of the weapons aforesaid as set forth in § 18.2-308
of the Code of Virginia, as amended.