Fairfax Lawmakers To Consider Banning Firearms On City Property

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City Council will consider enacting an ordnance at its regular meeting Tuesday night on whether to prohibit firearms in city buildings and on public property.

The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2020 enabling localities to enact ordinances to prohibit firearms in and on certain public properties. Since then, several nearby jurisdictions, including Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, and the City of Alexandria, have all enacted ordinances prohibiting firearms in public buildings and spaces.

The City of Fairfax ordinance had been discussed during an Oct. 6 council work session, but no consensus had been reached outside of agreeing to introduce the ordinance at a future council meeting, according to city documents.

The City Council will considering prohibiting firearms and ammunition in the following areas, according to a staff report:

1. In any building, or part thereof, owned or used by the city, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the city for governmental purposes.
2. In any public park owned or operated by the city, or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the city.
3. In any recreation or community center facility operated by the city or by any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the city.
4. In any public street, road, alley, or sidewalk or public right-of-way or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public and is being used by or is adjacent to a city-permitted event or an event that would otherwise require a city permit.

For buildings not owned by the city or a local governmental authority created or controlled by the city, the restrictions outlined above shall affect the parts of the building being used primarily for a governmental purpose.

In order to implement the prohibitions, the city manager may provide for security measures, which could include metal detectors and security personnel, whose duty would be to prevent unauthorized access to the building.

The ordinance contains a number of exceptions to the restrictions, including military or law enforcement personnel acting within the scope of their official duties, private security hired by the city, and the transportation of firearms in a vehicle, when the firearms are secured out of site in a vehicle being driven on a public street.