Alexandria, VA – As of Sept. 14, city council has amended the Code of the City of Alexandria to include a prohibition of firearms on city property. The code is not in effect, however, until the Virginia General Assembly amends a law that would allow the city to make such a declaration.

City council has unanimously ordained that the possession, carrying or transportation of firearms in buildings owned, leased or operated by the City; or in parks and in any recreational or community owned or used by the City, is prohibited. The ordinance also states that the possession, carrying, storage or transportation of firearms by City employees, agents or volunteers in workplaces owned, operated or managed by the City is prohibited.

“That’s the street, that’s the sidewalk… you can have a gun if you can get it into your house, so long as you keep it in your house, you can have it,” said Dino Drudi, a public speaker at the second reading of the ordinance. “That’s a more extreme gun ban than many of the gun control communities had before the Supreme Court struck it down.”

There are some exceptions to the prohibition. The ordinance will not apply to military personnel when acting within the scope of their official duties, sworn law enforcement officers, and private security personnel hired by the City. Let’s not forget our historical re-enactors and any other persons who possess firearms that are inoperative or otherwise incapable of discharging a projectile, and are not loaded with operable ammunition, when such persons are participating in, or traveling to or from, special events that involve the display or demonstration of such firearms.

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