Residents Furious as Gun Store Seeks to Move Into Arlington

A large new gun store is coming to Arlington, but a group of concerned citizens is doing all they can to oppose it.

Nova Armory has received a certificate of occupancy for 2300 N. Pershing Drive, according to a Washington Post report, and residents in the Lyons Park neighborhood where it would be located are not happy.

They’ve started a Change.org petition and have reached out to local government officials in a bid to keep the gun store from settling down in the county. The store doesn’t need to issue a notice because there is technically no change in land use.

The Arlington County Board sent out an email to residents saying there wasn’t much they could do.

“NOVA Armory is pleased to announce to Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC firearm enthusiasts, the construction of a new state-of-the-art retail gun shop!” a statement on their website says. “Located only 1 mile south of DC in Arlington, VA (just off route 50 near Ft. Myer), NOVA Armory will be the closest full service sporting arms dealers to DC and one of the largest sporting arms dealers inside the DC Beltway.”

The shop will offer skeet, trap and sporting clay shotguns, and staff will “assist you with ordering your custom engraved masterpiece that can be handed down to future generations.”

In a Feb. 25 update, the site says that Arlington County zoning and building inspections were complete, and NOVA Armory will open in a “couple weeks.”