This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/gun-store-owner-neighbors-may-meet-over-arlington-dispute/2016/02/26/b8f20de2-dcc8-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Gun store owner, neighbors may meet over Arlington dispute Gun store operator, neighbors may meet over Arlington dispute
(1 day later)
Residents of Arlington County’s Lyon Park neighborhood will meet with the County Board Sunday and were working to set up a meeting with representatives of a gun store that plans to open in the neighborhood next month, even as an online petition opposed to the store passed 2,000 signatures. Residents of Arlington County’s Lyon Park neighborhood are scheduled to meet with two County Board members Sunday and are setting up a meeting with the owner of a gun store that is to open in the neighborhood next month, even as an online petition opposing the store neared 2,500 signatures.
John Goldener, president of the Lyon Park Citizens Association, said the group is trying to schedule a meeting with the business owners. The meeting, he said, will be limited to people who live in the neighborhood. John Goldener, president of the Lyon Park Citizens Association, said the group will meet with two County Board members Sunday night to share information and is trying to schedule a meeting with the owner of the business. The meeting, he said, will be limited to people who live in nearby neighborhoods.
But the County Board announced late Friday that it will meet with neighborhood residents Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Lyon Park Community Center, 414 North Fillmore St. That meeting is open to the public. Since just two of Arlington’s County Board members will attend, the gathering is not required to be public under the Virginia open meetings law. The board previously issued a notice announcing that the meeting would be open to the public.
Some residents became upset this week after learning that Nova Armory plans to open a “high-end” skeet, trap and hunting arms shop that it describes as a “safe, family-friendly sporting arms business.” A message sent via email that appears to be from the Armory, however, said it has “received an outpouring of support from Arlington residents and looks forward to our opening in a couple weeks.” Some residents became upset this week when they learned that Nova Armory plans to open a “high-end” skeet, trap and hunting arms shop at 2300 N. Pershing Dr., across the street from Merit Academy, a private preschool and day-care center.
[Gun store faces opposition in Arlington][Gun store faces opposition in Arlington]
“We plan to have an open house to allow people to see exactly what we offer — and more importantly, what we do not offer,” said the email from the business, which came in reply to an inquiry sent to Dennis Pratte, who sought the store’s occupancy permit. “At that time, people will understand that NOVA Armory is not the typical gun shop and they will understand that our company is an asset to the community, and not something to be feared.” Dennis Pratte, who applied for the permit to open the store, said in an email Saturday that Nova Armory is a “family-owned business” started by his 16-year-old daughter, who seeks to emulate Donald Trump’s business practices “and turn her passion for sporting arms into a thriving firearms business.”
The email said that neither Nova Armory nor Pratte have no association with the gun store that tried and failed to open last spring in the Cherrydale neighborhood. Residents there persuaded the landlord to withdraw the lease before the store opened. “While she can’t legally sign certain documents, I act in her place when needed and am allowing her to build the business at her own pace so she can learn the things that are not taught in school,” Pratte wrote.
Arlington County posted a notice on its web site Friday afternoon explaining that the sale of firearms is regulated by the state of Virginia and the county has little power to ban or restrict businesses that sell guns. The County Board sent a notice Thursday to residents who had contacted it saying essentially the same; that notice is now online also. The author of an earlier email from Nova Armory had refused to name its owner but said it and Pratte have no connection with a failed attempt to open a gun store last spring in the Cherrydale neighborhood. Residents there persuaded the landlord to withdraw the lease before the store opened.
That hasn’t altered the opinions of those who signed the Change.org petition, who emphasize that the store is across N. Pershing Drive from a private preschool and day-care center. Arlington County posted a notice on its website Friday explaining that the sale of firearms is regulated by Virginia and that the county has no authority to bar such sales.
The county says that the federal Gun Free School Zone Act that restricts possession of a firearm within a “school zone” does not apply because the day-care facility does not qualify as a school zone. That has not altered the opinions of the 2,500 people who signed the online petition opposing the store. A petition supporting the business also has appeared online, with 345 signatures by mid-afternoon Saturday.
The county says that the federal Gun Free School Zone Act that restricts the possession of firearms within a “school zone” does not apply in this case because the Merit facility does not qualify as a school zone.
This report has been updated.