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New in Arlington - any OC Issues

gis

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Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
264
Location
Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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Hi all. I just joined this site in hopes of getting advise on what I need to know, as I am about to move to VA. I have had the VA non-resident permit since day one (5 years) and have just submitted my renewal. My current home state permit (Michigan) is also recognized by VA, and since I still have a house in MI, I plan on keepeing a MI permit too (along with my Florida and a few others). My job is in Arlington (starts August 3), so as much as I hate the congestion of NOVA, I will have to live within a reasonable distance of work. So, here are a few questions.

1. Would I get hassled by anyone for open carrying in Arlington? I am asking primarily for the purpose of going to a restaurant that serves alcohol.

2. Are there any local ordinances I need to be aware of, like against open carry, etc.? Someone told me that Leesburg had one, but I am not sure how reliable that information is.

3. Can I carry on the Metro (open or concealed), assuming of course that I stay in VA and do not go into Maryland or D.C.?

4. Are there any places that qualify as federal proterty or oterhwise off-limits that one could mistakenly find themselves in? I was told that George Washington Parkway is off limits bacause it is federal property.

5. Most importantly, where should I look for a house to be in a gun friendly area? In Michigan I was used to a 55 mile commute (took 45 minutes), but in NOVA I have been told that would be 2 hours. I was told to go west off I-66. Any suggestions? Any counties better or worse than others?

6. Any issues specific to Virginia for carrying at work? I was happy to see that my company doesn't have a no-guns sign on the front door (I wouldn't take the job of they did), and I didn't find anything in the employee manual saying that I can't carry. I carried during the interviews and plan on carrying when I start working there. Anyone see any problems with that?

Thanks for all your help. I plan on joining VCDL. Any other VA organizations I should know about?
 

mkl

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Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
387
Location
arlington,va, ,
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I OC in Arlington very frequently and have never had a problem. I don't always OC, but obviously do when eating at places serving alcohol which is generally a few times a week. Other people have had issues where they were stopped by police, but those incidents seem to be very infrequent from what I can tell.

VA has preemption so no local ordinances are legal. See http://law.justia.com/virginia/codes/toc1502000/15.2-915.html

I personally CC on the metro. Here is a letter from the WMATA about firearms on the metro :
http://vaguninfo.com/images/METROLetter.jpg

GW parkway is a National Park owned roadway, so without the gun being stored properly, carry is not currently permitted. When national park carry is permitted this will be fine, although there is the weird section of the GW parkway that goes by Arlington cemetery where the road goes through DC owned land. I guess also even though there is no way to get to Roosevelt island except a walking bridge from Arlington, the island is in DC.

When looking for a place to live make sure you consider your path to work at the time of day you will be traveling. For example, 66 going East inside of the beltway is an HOV only road during the morning rush hours, and HOV only going west in the evening rush hours. If you will be driving alone you will be unable to use 66 inside the beltway, unless your hours are flexible enough to skirt the HOV hours.
 

SouthernBoy

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Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,837
Location
Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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gis wrote:
Hi all. I just joined this site in hopes of getting advise on what I need to know, as I am about to move to VA. I have had the VA non-resident permit since day one (5 years) and have just submitted my renewal. My current home state permit (Michigan) is also recognized by VA, and since I still have a house in MI, I plan on keepeing a MI permit too (along with my Florida and a few others). My job is in Arlington (starts August 3), so as much as I hate the congestion of NOVA, I will have to live within a reasonable distance of work. So, here are a few questions.

1. Would I get hassled by anyone for open carrying in Arlington? I am asking primarily for the purpose of going to a restaurant that serves alcohol.

2. Are there any local ordinances I need to be aware of, like against open carry, etc.? Someone told me that Leesburg had one, but I am not sure how reliable that information is.

3. Can I carry on the Metro (open or concealed), assuming of course that I stay in VA and do not go into Maryland or D.C.?

4. Are there any places that qualify as federal proterty or oterhwise off-limits that one could mistakenly find themselves in? I was told that George Washington Parkway is off limits bacause it is federal property.

5. Most importantly, where should I look for a house to be in a gun friendly area? In Michigan I was used to a 55 mile commute (took 45 minutes), but in NOVA I have been told that would be 2 hours. I was told to go west off I-66. Any suggestions? Any counties better or worse than others?

6. Any issues specific to Virginia for carrying at work? I was happy to see that my company doesn't have a no-guns sign on the front door (I wouldn't take the job of they did), and I didn't find anything in the employee manual saying that I can't carry. I carried during the interviews and plan on carrying when I start working there. Anyone see any problems with that?

Thanks for all your help. I plan on joining VCDL. Any other VA organizations I should know about?
Firstly, let me welcome you to our state.

I lived in Arlington for 24 years, but I never OC'd there because that was before I got into the OC movement. I did CC there, however. As you get closer in to DC in the NOVA area, you are more apt to see :what:when carrying, but I must say that I have not had any of these experiences in those areas. I live in western Prince William County which is very gun-friendly and a non-issue type of location.

1. I may have just answered above.

2. Virginia has pre-emptive laws which means that locales cannot pre-empt state laws, so no.. Arlington cannot pass any laws which violate your rights at the state level. And Leesburg is fine to carry.

3. As I understand it, yes you can. But I would wait and see what others have to say about Metro since I virtually never use it.

4. Military bases and government installations are two off-limit places that come to mind right away. And I think the GW parkway is also off-limits for the reasons you gave, but let's see what someone says.

5. There are a bunch of places within an hour of Arlington that are "out there" a ways you might wish to consider. There are a bunch of back roads you can take to avoid the major arteries and will get you to your work in a reasonable amount of time. Parts of Fairfax (Centreville, Clifton, Chantilly), even into Prince William County might be doable. In which part of Arlington are you going to be working??

6. Since it appears that your new employer is a private concern, you are good to go. Virginia has no laws about that unless the business is ABC-ON. It is up to your employer and you. VCDL and the NRA are your best friends here. VCDL is very active and very effective at the state and local levels, so yes indeed.. please do join up.

Again, the question, what part of Arlington are you going to be working in and what times are you going to be going to and from work, would help in giving good answers to some of your questions.

Welcome aboard!
 

gis

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
264
Location
Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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SouthernBoy wrote:
Again, the question, what part of Arlington are you going to be working in and what times are you going to be going to and from work, would help in giving good answers to some of your questions.
I will be working right off I-66 & Glebe Road. I think they call it Ballston. I will be working regular hours 7-9 A.M. until 4-6 P.M.

So you are telling me that I am not allowed to drive on I-66 inside the beltway by myself during the rush hour? I know the left lane is HOV during rush, but I didn't see any signs that said that the whole road was HOV. So how does one get to work coming from the westif your work is off I-66?
 

architect

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Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
392
Location
Falls Church, Virginia, USA
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gis wrote:
So you are telling me that I am not allowed to drive on I-66 inside the beltway by myself during the rush hour? I know the left lane is HOV during rush, but I didn't see any signs that said that the whole road was HOV. So how does one get to work coming from the westif your work is off I-66?
Yes, I-66 inside the beltway is 100% HOV during morning rush hours, unless you have an approved "green" vehicle that sports the proper tags.

One way might be to exit I-66 to I-495S one exit to US-50E to Wilson Blvd E at seven corners which will take you right in to Ballston. 50 is very slow in the AM from the beltway to 7 corners, so I think a lot of people must be following this route.
 

SouthernBoy

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Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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architect wrote:
gis wrote:
So you are telling me that I am not allowed to drive on I-66 inside the beltway by myself during the rush hour? I know the left lane is HOV during rush, but I didn't see any signs that said that the whole road was HOV. So how does one get to work coming from the westif your work is off I-66?
Yes, I-66 inside the beltway is 100% HOV during morning rush hours, unless you have an approved "green" vehicle that sports the proper tags.

One way might be to exit I-66 to I-495S one exit to US-50E to Wilson Blvd E at seven corners which will take you right in to Ballston. 50 is very slow in the AM from the beltway to 7 corners, so I think a lot of people must be following this route.
There are some other avenues to that part of Arlington as well. My wife used to work in Ballston for the Navy (Air). But most of that time, we lived 1.5 miles down Wilson Blvd from Ballston, so her commute was nothing.

You could jump off at 495 South, then take some other roads to escape route 50. Like Lee Hwy through Merrifield to some back roads that will take you to Wilson Blvd. Just leave a little extra time for the run.

I have lived in this area (Falls Church, Annandale, Arlington, and western Prince William County) my entire live, so I am pretty familiar with the back roads. But even they can get a little backed up, though it's better than getting stuck on 66 or 495.
 

zoom6zoom

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Jun 24, 2006
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Dale City, VA, Virginia, USA
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Yes, I-66 inside the beltway is 100% HOV during morning rush hours, unless you have an approved "green" vehicle that sports the proper tags.

Motorcycles are good to go as well. Hybrid exemption is currently due to expire next year.
 

TexasNative

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Joined
Apr 11, 2007
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856
Location
Austin, TX
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SouthernBoy wrote:
gis wrote:
4. Are there any places that qualify as federal proterty or oterhwise off-limits that one could mistakenly find themselves in? I was told that George Washington Parkway is off limits bacause it is federal property.
4. Military bases and government installations are two off-limit places that come to mind right away. And I think the GW parkway is also off-limits for the reasons you gave, but let's see what someone says.
GW Parkway is a no go for loaded guns, OC or CC, because it's in a National Park, not because it's federal property. And even when the National Park rule is changed in February, you still can't legally carry where it goes over Columbia Island through Lady Bird Johnson Park, because that's in DC, not Virginia.

~ Boyd
 

gis

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Jul 5, 2009
Messages
264
Location
Prince William County, Virginia, USA
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Thanks all for the info. I picked a corporate apartment in Chantilly, so I will see how that commute goes for me. I have been to the NRA gun range and another indoor range in Chantilly (forget the name now), but I need to find an outdoor gun club to join. I want to be able to do dynamic CQB work as well as have a decent 200-300 yards for rifle. Any suggestions?
 

GWRedDragon

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Dec 10, 2008
Messages
252
Location
Arlington, Virginia, USA
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gis wrote:
Thanks all for the info. I picked a corporate apartment in Chantilly, so I will see how that commute goes for me. I have been to the NRA gun range and another indoor range in Chantilly (forget the name now), but I need to find an outdoor gun club to join. I want to be able to do dynamic CQB work as well as have a decent 200-300 yards for rifle. Any suggestions?
Blue Ridge Arsenal.
 
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