Legislation proposed in early January by a Virginia Democratic lawmaker could effectively limit the number of outdoor gun ranges in the commonwealth through local governments by rezoning property for residential use.
The bill was authored by Democratic state Sen. John Bell, whose district covers portions of Loudoun and Prince William counties. According to Bell’s legislation, outdoor ranges would not be able to operate within 500 yards of any property zoned for residential use unless the Range Design Criteria established by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Health, Safety, and Security have been met.
The bill defines outdoor ranges as “any partially enclosed or unenclosed area or facility designed for the use of rifles, shotguns, pistols, silhouettes, skeet, trap, black powder, or any other similar sport shooting.”
The state of Virginia offers more than 70 outdoor shooting ranges to the public. The Washington Examiner reached out to Bell’s office for comment, as several of the outdoor ranges are located in his district, but did not hear back.
Mark Oliva, director of public affairs of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the firearms industry, told the Washington Examiner, “The key language [in the bill] is any property zoned for residential use.”
He argued, “That language would allow a county commission to simply change the zoning designation to regulate out the existence or potential for a small business outdoor range to operate.”
Oliva added that ranges set up on private properties could be considered a violation of the law, pointing to the language that defines an “outdoor range” in the bill.
“This language is unclear if this applies strictly to a commercial, county, state, or federal outdoor range,” he said. “That seems to apply to private parties who are participating in recreational shooting on their own property, making them subject to fines of up to $100,000 for the first violation and an additional $5,000 each day following.”
Oliva added, “This is an attempt to legislate out of existence the opportunity to learn and participate in the recreational shooting sports and limit the ability of law-abiding Virginians to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
Another Virginia Democratic lawmaker also proposed legislation that would regulate private indoor gun ranges to no more than 50 employees and require the range to collect and maintain personal information of each individual that uses the range.
Since Democrats took over majorities of both chambers in the Virginia legislature in November, a slew of gun control bills have been put forth amid outcry from pro-gun protesters in the commonwealth. Virginia’s state Senate has already passed three of these bills.
Second Amendment activists from the Virginia Citizens Defense League are expected to attend the state’s annual “Lobby Day” in Richmond, as they have each year, on Monday, to speak to their legislators and rally.
