Nova Firearms was planning on occupying the old curves space. (Photo: Patricia Sullivan/The Washington Post)
U.S. Marine Corps veteran James Gates had grand plans of opening a gun store in Cherrywood, but was met with vehement opposition from local residents and business owners.
Gates wanted to place NOVA Firearms in the small town located in the neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. However, locals were up in arms before the store even opened and Gates and shopping center owner Konstantinos Kapasouris ultimately decided to cancel the lease.
“He knew right away it wasn’t going to work from the community, but the business owners let him know as well,” said Bill Hamrock, co-owner of a bistro located across the street from the would-be NOVA Firearms.
One of those business owners was Kapasouris, who unabashedly told Gates he didn’t want guns in the town, let alone his shopping center.
“I don’t want to have a gun store,” said Kapasouris. “I thought it wasn’t a good store.”
But Kapasouris said he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, pointing also to Cherrydale’s residents, many of whom petitioned against NOVA Firearms.
“The community, they didn’t like it – the idea to have a gun store,” said Kapasouris. “Even if it’s down the street, they didn’t want to have it there.”
Cherrydale shoppers threatened to take their business elsewhere if the big, scary gun store was to rear its ugly head near their strip mall.
“I had several customers showing me Facebook [posts] that were telling people not to come to the restaurant,” said Hamrock, suggesting that the space be used instead for a bakery or a coffee shop.
The unfortunate scenario leaves Gates short one gun store, and perhaps even worse, reflects the town’s sentiment towards firearms.
Guns may be loud and frightening to those unfamiliar with them, but squashing potential businesses that sell firearms is a good way to create an enormous “gun-free zone.”
Hopefully the bad guys share Cherrydale’s anti-gun sentiments, but I doubt it.
(This article was a submission from freelance writer Brent Rogers)
I have an idea that will make everybody happy. The gun store will open and all against the Second Amendment will be BUSED to Europe at reduced fairs.
That’s sad a US Marine wants to start a business in the Country he lives in and fought for so all can have there freedoms and the shameful people of that community won’t let him enjoy his freedoms not to mention bring jobs to the area.
What do you know? A bunch of bed-wetting, pantywaist gun haters live in the “home of presidents.” Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Patrick Henry must be rolling around in their graves.
Now that all the criminals know that these people do not want guns in their town, i feel sorry for them. if the criminals read this article where do you think they will go?
The crime rate in Arlington is way below the national average; urban or otherwise. Feds look after where they live. They don’t live in DC. Not the rough parts anyhow. Plus its a 1in 3 chance you’d be attacking a serviceman or ex serviceman. The fed prefer hiring them.
This is what happens in a Liberal Society. It is where ignorant people are allowed to dictate what can or cannot go into their little closed minded world. I have personally trained dozens of people on firearms and have learned one undeniable truth. Those who fear a firearm have not taken the time to be properly trained on their possession or use. After proper training they no longer fear the firearm they have a healthy respect for it’s legal possession and proper use. Of course the media has a huge responsibility in the erroneous fears of it’s readership and the scare tactics and outright lies about firearms perpetrated by this propaganda from the left wing media. Notice that when it’s their safety on the line they don’t hesitate to pull a firearm and use it to protect their lives but don’t you dare to do so.
The people who didn’t want a gin store spoke up and the lease agreement was pulled. Where were those who wanted the store? Why didn’t they let the property owner they wanted a gun store in their town? If you won’t support some thing don’t bitch when you don’t get it.
Perhaps the good folks who believe in CCW, should take their business elsewhere. I certainly would if I lived in Arlington, or nearby communities. The place can’t be very safe now, as Kaspasouris has deemed, no firearms for self protection on my premises. I’d be gone in a heart beat. There are plenty of businesses that welcome law abiding folks who do carry.
Hey, thugs! Come & take it. Here is another gun free zone. Come & do what you do best. They are waiting for you with open arms & closed minds.
Its not democracy its called cronyism.DC the American tape worm. Just a parasitic wastland.
It’s getting easier to put in a Titty Bar, or Liquor store, or Dirty Book store than a Gun Shop, or even a Church, for God Fearing Citizens, but if the town don’t want a Gun Shop then the Criminals will know where to go to Rob People as they know they will be relatively safe from being shot at won’t they?? Remember this one thing, the Police aren’t there to Protect you, they are there to cleanup the Mess after someone KILLS YOU, and make out there report about how, and why, your DEAD… BETTER TO BE JUDGED BY 12, THAN CARRIED BY 6!!!!
Many years ago there was a local businessman who owned three businesses on one small piece of property–an auto repair place, a bar and a gun store. Despite the potential for problems (“You want to charge WHAT for that repair? After I’ve spent two hours drinking? I’m going to get a gun and reduce that price significantly.), there was never, ever any sort of difficulty there. I always thought that he was one very smart fellow.
I remember a store somewhere in northern Wisconsin that we passed through when going fishing “Up North”. It was called “Firearms & Firewater” as the name implies, they dealt in Guns & Booze. How do you think that’d fly in today’s world of politically correct B.S. I miss the “Old Days”.
A friend of mine told me about a two-story building in metropolitan Omaha, Nebraska with a gun store/range on the ground floor and a bar on the top floor. Never a problem, because an armed society is a POLITE society. Even drunks can figure odds.
Scared off by a few losers with big mouths.
I’m a gun owner and sport shooter living in Arlington within a mile of the Pentagon. I have no problem with a gunstore in Cherrywood. I also have no problem with citizens expressing their opposing opinions. That’s a constitutional right I’ll fight for. If they wanted to keep the store out and succeeded, congratulations to them. That’s called democracy.
I too live in Arlington and about as far from the Pentagon. Too bad about the store but I agree, people made their views known and in the end the potential owner opted to avoid the hassle. If it had gone to court and he was prevented from opening it then I would be upset. As it is, this probably just ended up saving me money. Most stores can’t carry enough stock to make me happy anyway. That’s why 100% of the rifles and pistols I’ve purchased in the last 10 years were all ordered. Dealers doing a compliant transfer between each other and then I pay $30 to have my guy run the background checks etc. Also save a ton of tax. I usually forget to pay it when I file my taxes. 🙂
It’s not called democracy; it’s called vocal minority and effective use of social media combined with a group of people who take little true responsibility for their own safety. Add that to an indifferent (or cowardly) populace….
They deserve the society they long for (one where they keep out a gun store and then wring their hands when violence confronts them, demanding to know why someone else didn’t protect them). I hope they live long enough to live in the environment they hope to create. They are free to express their opinion, of course, while they still can.
I understand why you’d say it but vocal minority doesn’t fly. Gun control voting nation wide has returned 70 percent opposed to gun ownership. We and our opinions are a minority. To them we’re the lunatic right. They’re not going to change their opinion any more than we are. Votes count so we need to tread carefully to keep what we have.
The DC area is a snake pit anyway. The lowlife from the inner city would have stolen everything not tied down while the liberal faction served popcorn and soda pop from the sidelines.
Thomas Jefferson would be so ashamed of those in Virginia, with this attitude. How disgraceful that you make this man turn in his grave, and slap him in the face, You’r all cowards, you deserve no freedoms granted by God almighty, and or those that fought to give us the Great Republic, and those that died so we can keep such freedoms and rights. Shame on you
to be fair, thomas jefferson didn’t believe in your god. he was a deist at best, and did not believe in the events of the bible, or in jesus. if he was alive today, he would almost certainly be an atheist.
Lets’ not confuse deist with atheist friend….for your edification, the deist believes in God but not formal, organized religion. There are many of us around who don’t trust the institutions but do believe in a supreme entity.
Thomas Jefferson actually edited a version of the Bible himself (which conformed to his Deist beliefs). Let’s not create an “historical” Thomas Jefferson who never was.
Don’t judge all Virginians by those scum that spill out of D.C. in Southside Va we are still VERY pro gun, even most of the local Democrats. I think most of rural Va is like this. We still fight for the virtues our founders belived in. I do agree though that the likes of Patrick Henry, who is burried less than an hour from my house, would be shocked if he saw the condition of our state as a whole or God forbid our once great nation.
So, how many residents did Rogers interview? According to two hunting buddies who live there…..0.. I’d expect that from the msn, but not here.
We had a similar outcome here in GA where a successful gun shop owner from a nearby town tried to build a new store and range in our small town. The local anti-gunners opposed it at every turn while the town said it met all zoning and use requirements. The opponents then filed suit after suit (their attorney was working pro bono), costing the owner over $70K in legal costs, resulting in him just giving up. In prior days the judge would have dismissed the suits as frivolous but today’s judges prefer to “let the system work”, in effect allowing the complainants to win without ever going to trial.
Back in the old days (and it’s still true in some states), this sort of legal harassment was actually punishable under the criminal code as “barratry.”
I am an Old Dominion Resident ( Central part where we have and use Guns ) Arlington is not reflective of VA, I would call it Virginia’s Detroit as well as several other areas close to DC.
All Gun stores are welcome Here
Where? I might agree that Northern Virginia is Detroit, but Central Virginia is not much better.
I grew up in a small conservative town in southern Virginia that is dying a slow death because it seems that all of the taxes collected in Virginia are spent in Richmond and around the Capital Beltway. The government has all but outlawed tobacco and the furniture and textile industries have been exported to China and the Far East. The rest of the Commonwealth, led by Clinton pal McAuliffe and the Beltway crowd is rapidly becoming just another high tax “blue state” like Maryland and New Jersey.
What’s the over/under on how many days before some “good boy” shoves a guns in the restaurant owners face?
That shopping center just painted a large target on the backs of their shoppers and shop owners (and the survivors will cry for more gun control of adjoining areas, just as they are in Denver and Aurora, Colorado – and the perpetrator in the Aurora shooting lived in Denver, where the assault rifle he used was technically illegal).