Victory for Gun Safety in the Courts: Federal Court Upholds Fairfax County’s Common-Sense Gun Safety Law Prohibiting Guns in Parks and at County-Permitted Events

Fairfax County, VA – In a major victory for gun safety in the courts, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia upheld Fairfax County’s common-sense gun safety ordinance prohibiting guns in parks and at County-permitted events against a Second Amendment challenge brought by NRA-backed plaintiffs. 

“I’m pleased the court did the right thing and allow Fairfax County to utilize all its authority to keep our communities safe. These commonsense limitations on where guns can legally be carried is an important step to reducing gun violence in Fairfax County, and I thank Everytown for their support in this case, and thank you to County residents and Moms Demand Action for their steadfast support of this important cause.” – Jeffrey McKay, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

“We’re pleased by the court’s ruling, confirming that Fairfax County’s common-sense and life-saving ordinance is constitutional. Keeping guns out of sensitive places like parks and County-permitted events has no doubt made the Fairfax community safer.” – Janet Carter, Senior Director of Issues and Appeals at Everytown Law.

“A few years ago, I joined my fellow Moms Demand Action volunteers in advocating for the passage of this common-sense ordinance because we understood that by keeping guns out of sensitive places, we could prevent gun violence in our community. I’m deeply relieved that the federal court upheld this ordinance, and that the gun lobby-backed plaintiffs in question have lost in their efforts that would have put our loved ones at risk of harm.” –  Lauren Kimball, Gun Violence Survivor and Virginia Moms Demand Action volunteer.

In awarding summary judgment to the County, the decision brings to a close more than three and a half years of litigation in both state and federal courts, in which the County has prevailed at every stage. Plaintiffs originally sued in Virginia state court under the state constitution in January 2021. After suffering a series of defeats, plaintiffs dropped that lawsuit in September 2023. They then filed a new lawsuit in federal court in November 2023, only to suffer another setback when they were denied a preliminary injunction in January. Now, the court has awarded final judgment to the County, concluding that prohibiting guns in parks and at County-permitted events is constitutional under the history-focused standard established and elaborated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen and United States v. Rahimi. 

Everytown Law, the nation’s largest and most experienced team of litigators in the U.S. working full-time on advancing gun violence prevention in the courts, represented Fairfax County in the case, alongside lawyers from the Office of the County Attorney and from the law firm Offit Kurman. Janet Carter, Senior Director of Issues and Appeals at Everytown Law, argued the case for the County.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted overwhelmingly to adopt the ordinance in September 2020. The County was able to pass the life-saving ordinance after former Governor Northam signed legislation into law that rolled back Virginia’s preemption law by allowing local governments to prohibit guns in a number of sensitive places. Fairfax County’s ordinance prohibits guns in County parks, at or adjacent to County-permitted events (or events that otherwise require such a permit), community and recreation centers, and government buildings. The County is required to post signage providing notice of these prohibitions to the public.

The Everytown Law team includes Janet Carter, Bill Taylor, Priyanka Sen, Carina Bentata, Eleuthera Sa, Ivan Wohner, Freya Jamison, Kellen Heniford, and Alison Oh.