A recent article has revealed that a gun store offering “the largest selection of firearms inside the D.C. Beltway” is planning to open next month in Lyon Park.

This small strip mall along Pershing Drive and Route 50 is in a residential location and literally next door to a day care/after-care school, the Merit School of Arlington. It is also within blocks of Long Branch Elementary, and less than a mile from Key Elementary and Thomas Jefferson Middle School. 

We, the citizens of Arlington County, oppose a gun shop at this location. We are alarmed to hear of these plans just weeks before opening, when there was so much controversy around similar plans to open a gun shop in Cherrydale. That effort was thwarted due to community opposition, and we ask that the landlords of 2300 N Pershing Drive also hear the citizens' concerns. 

In an era of ever-increasing gun violence, it is unconscionable to locate a gun shop anywhere in the vicinity of schools, both private and public, with young children in close proximity. The fear of armed intruders in schools is extremely prevalent in our schools, and placing a shop that sells guns and/or ammunition within immediate distance of schools sends a confusing signal to students and could certainly spark fears of access to them and their families. 

We call on the owner of the building and the gun shop to exercise concern for the community, and most particularly its youngest and most vulnerable residents, and cease any action that would allow a gun shop to occupy this space.

If the shop was not right for Cherrydale, what makes it right for Lyon Park?

Please also express your concern to your local elected officials - 

Arlington County Board Members: 

countyboard@arlingtonva.us 

Arlington School Board Members: 

school.board@apsva.us