NOVA Armory Sold to Store Manager

The Washington Post has the story here:

Dennis R. Pratte, who opened Nova Armory in March under the business name of Broadstone Security, said he sold the business Aug. 19 to Shawn Poulin, the store’s manager, who continues to operate it.

Poulin, in an interview at the store Saturday, said that the business is “in the black” and that he plans to expand to the second floor, with a showroom to feature rifles, tactical gear and an expanded clothing line. The former Marine said he’s the majority owner of the store. He said his partner is a Fairfax County company that makes amphibious patrol boats, but he would not name the firm.

Pratte was harassed by malcontents in the neighborhood and the General Assembly when he originally opened the store.

NOVA Armory Still Under Attack

The Arlington Department of Community Planning, Housing, and Development is planning to review NOVA Armory’s Certificate of Occupancy at a hearing tonight!  Gun owners need to turn out to show support for NOVA Armory.  The business is legally operating and has was properly issued its occupancy approval. TheLibertyZone.com has more details:

Neither Dennis Pratte nor his landlord were notified of this public hearing

And they weren’t notified by the Arlington County Board, but by a neighbor. I suppose these authoritarian swine were hoping Dennis and his landlord wouldn’t show up and defend themselves against these odious attacks.

After all, it’s much easier to bully your victim by stabbing them in the back. It’s much preferable to destroy your prey when they least expect it.

According to an appeal filed by gun-grabbing filth Julie Young, Emily Hughes, Bernadette Brennan, Grace Chan, and Nathan Guerrero, because the store advertised “wholesale prices,” it operates as a wholesaler, vice a retailer, and therefore, its application as a “retail space” contains false information, and therefore its certificate of occupancy should be revoked.

If you live in the area please attend tonight's hearing.  It will start at 7 PM and the location is:

Arlington Department of Community Planning, Housing, and Development
2100 Clarendon Blvd
3rd Floor, Board of Supervisors Room
Arlington, VA 22201

UPDATE: NOVA Armory gets to keep it's occupancy license. A large turnout of supporters and the fact this whole thing was frivolous led the zoning board to unanimously vote in favor of NOVA Armory.  Great job gun owners for turning out last night. 

Thanks to everyone that came out this evening! The sea of orange made a difference! It was was a great night for gun owners in Arlington!

— NOVA Armory (@NOVAarmory) May 12, 2016

Washington Post Follow-up Story on NOVA Armory vs. NoVA Gun Ban Legislators

The Washington Post has this piece that gives another side to the battle between a new gun shop and seven northern Virginia legislators seek to create gun shop free zones.  You may recall last week this blog shared the story of seven gun ban legislators trying to bully the landlord of a new gun shop trying to get the landlord to not rent to Dennis R. Pratte, owner of NOVA Armory.  The new story features a photo of the owner's daughter Lauren, which her dad calls the "owner in training," and gives his response to the letter and the neighborhood activists:

“The actions of these local crazies against our business is approaching the level of ‘tortious interference,’ ” the news release quotes Lauren Pratte as saying. “If you’ve posted on Facebook, agitated people on the local community’s online forum, made harassing phone calls, or sent angry emails designed to interfere with our business relationship with our landlord, you are on my attorneys’ list. So if you don’t see NOVA Armory open for business, you better worry about seeing us in court.”

Pratte is the former owner of NOVA Firearms, which was embroiled in its own battle last year, and My Gun Factory in McLean which is now closed.  For their part, the agitators aren't happy with the possibility of being sued for trying to keep a legal business from opening.

According to the Post, it appears that unlike the other businesses in the location that NOVA Firearms was originally going to move its shop, the other tenants in the location that NOVA Armory plans to locate are keeping their powder dry in this fight so far.

Karen Taylor Soiles, a physical therapist who rents space in the same three-story commercial building where Nova Armory intends to open, said her landlord and most other tenants are avoiding discussion about the shop, although it’s the prime topic at every neighborhood gathering.

VSSA will continue to monitor this and keep members informed as new developments occur.

Gun Ban Legislators Continue Fight Against Gun Retailers

The Washington Post posted this report last night detailing the latest moves by seven state legislators in their war against firearms dealers.  Last year, NOVA Firearms wanted to move to a larger location since their business had outgrown their current location.  They found a location, had even begun to renovate the space for their needs when the landlord caved to pressure from other tenants and the community and broke the lease.  NOVA Firearms found another location, but this one ended up being near a school.  This sparked new protests and several of the legislators representing the area introduced legislation to restrict firearm dealers within a certain distance from a school.  The bills failed to be approved by the respective House and Senate committees and died.

Now a different business, NOVA Armory wants to open in Arlington County and Delgates Patrick Hope, Alfonso Lopez, Richard Sullivan and Mark Levine along with Senators Barbara Favola, Janet Howell and Adam Ebbin have written a letter to the property owner decrying the opening of the business.

The letter recalls the years in the 1990s when Virginia was known as the “gun-running capital of the East Coast” and warns that Nova Armory, the business that aims to locate at 2300 N. Pershing Dr., is “already marketing aggressively” to residents of other states.

Last week, the Arlington County Board also decried the plans of Nova Armory to open what the store described as a “high-end” retailer of sporting and self-defense weapons. Residents of the Lyon Park neighborhood, across Route 50 from Joint Base Ft. Myer-Henderson Hall, have raised objections to its opening. The store will be across the street from a private preschool and day care center.

The legislators think because the business is so close to Route 50 with easy access to Interstate 95 that this gives the potential for "nefarious and illegal activities." The letter echoes back to the so-called "iron pipeline" from Virginia to points north where criminals supposedly illegally pay Virginia residents to buy guns and create "black market to sell firearms for cash or drugs, or become a magnet for robbery as was recently the case in a firearms store in McLean, Virginia.”   But that appears to be cover for their anti-gun bigotry based on this line from the letter:

“The selling of firearms, while legal, does not reflect the Arlington community’s values,” the legislators said.

The Post reports that some residents from the Lyon Park community where the store will be located have started a petition opposing Nova Armory, supposedly collecting more than 3,000 signatures so far. A petition supporting the business has topped 500 signatures.  One of those supporters told the Post:

“As an Arlington resident and homeowner, I welcome this new business to the County,” wrote petition-signer Dan Alban. “A lawful firearms retailer poses no particular danger to nearby residents or businesses, and baseless hysteria about the proximity of guns is an inadequate justification for prohibiting a legitimate business from operating in the County. Legitimate businesses and other organizations should not be prevented from opening because they are unpopular or controversial.”

We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.