Is Trouble Brewing Over NOVA Armory?

NOVA Armory held its grand opening this weekend on North Pershing Drive in Lyon Park, welcoming throngs of eager gun fans -- but there are signs that future ugliness is brewing for the controversial gun shop that threatened to sue local officials who interfered.

NOVA Armory didn't exactly ingratiate itself with the local community when word got out that a gun shop was moving into the Lyon Park neighborhood. Rather than ignore calls from opponents for the landlord to reconsider allowing them as a tenant, the gun shop fired off an angry letter warning of potential lawsuits if they didn't back off. And just last week, NOVA Armory reported on Twitter that someone had tried to attach some "anti-gun propaganda" to its door.

NOVA Armory finally held its grand opening on March 26 after delaying it week initially. Gun enthusiasts from all around packed the store, and the gun shop posted a picture on its Twitter feed.

The big opening shows that NOVA Armory certainly can draw plenty of customers, but its presence in Lyon Park remains a tense situation. During the opening, opponents of the gun shop held a counter rally just blocks away, according to WTOP.com.

Besides having plenty of customers -- at least so far -- NOVA Armory also has support from the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, which took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony this weekend. But with plans to expand further into the even more gun-hostile area of Washington, D.C., according to WTOP, the battle over gun shops in the region may be just beginning.