The use of BB guns and other air-powered weapons will soon be legal on private property throughout Virginia, angering Northern Virginia officials whose constituents live in heavily populated areas. “For our area, it is insane,” said state Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax. “It’s one thing to do this in any rural area, but to allow it in a suburban or urban area like much of Northern Virginia?” “Pneumatic weapons” – from paintball guns to pellet guns that shoot at 1,000 feet per second — have long been treated as regular firearms under Fairfax County’s code. Their use is generally prohibited in heavily populated areas and near schools and highways.
Under a new state law, however, the county must change its ordinances to allow air guns “on private property if the person shooting has permission of the owner or legal possessor of the property on which the pneumatic gun is being used.” Permission is also needed from the owner of the land on which the ammunition is expected to land.
