November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 29
ed their ability to carry firearms in
Fairfax County Parks.
On September 16, 2020, Fairfax
County adopted Fairfax County
Code § 6-2-1 (the Ordinance)
which, in pertinent part, prohibited
the " possession, carrying, or transportation
of any firearms, ammunition,
or components or combination
thereof " in " any public park
owned or operated by the County,
or by any authority or local government
entity created or controlled
by the County. "
Notice of the ordinance was required
to be posted " at all entrances
of any public park owned or operated
by the County. " In addition,
if an officer encountered someone
with a firearm and verified proper
signage, the ordinance required
the officer to " first seek voluntary
compliance " before " initiating any
citation or arrest. " Violations of
the ordinance would " constitute a
Class 1 misdemeanor. "
Second Amendment
Complaint
On November 22, 2023, Plaintiffs
filed a civil action in federal district
court challenging the Ordinance
under
the
Second Amendment
of the Constitution of the United
States. In their complaint, Plaintiffs
alleged the Ordinance violated
their Second Amendment right to
bear arms in the Parks. In so doing,
Plaintiffs alleged the County
Parks have " vast acreage " that " do
not
constitute
sensitive places. "
Moreover, Plaintiffs claimed the
Parks Restriction deprived them of
" acting in self-defense in the places
identified in the Ordinance, " in
particular County Parks.
The federal district court found
Plaintiffs who otherwise possess
valid licenses to carry firearms in
public had legal standing to challenge
the Parks Restriction Ordinance
because they faced a credible
threat of arrest based upon
their intent to carry their firearms
in County Parks.
Second Amendment
Case Law
The issue before the federal district
court was the constitutionality of
the Parks Restriction Ordinance
under the Second Amendment. As
cited by the federal district court,
the Second Amendment states, in
its entirety: " A well-regulated Militia,
being necessary to the security
of a free State, the right of the people
to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed. "
of Supreme Court
According to the court, a series
since
cases
2008 have guided the analysis of
the Second Amendment's right to
bear arms. In particular, the court
cited the opinion of the Supreme
Court in District of Columbia v.
Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 635 (2008),
which had held the Second
Amendment protected " the rights
of ordinary, law-abiding citizens
to possess handguns inside the
home for self-defense " and this
right did " not depend on the citizen's
service in the militia. " The
Heller decision, however, recognized
that this right to bear arms
was " not limitless and expressly
recognized that history supported
a limit on the right to bear arms
in 'sensitive spaces,' like schools
and government buildings. "
In 2022, the Supreme Court decided
New York State Rifle and Pistol
Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1,
which held the Second Amendment
" protected
an individual's
right to carry a handgun for
self-defense outside the home. " In
Bruen, the Supreme Court established
the following analysis that
centered on the Second Amendment's
text and history:
[W]hen
the
Second Amendment's
plain text covers an individual's
conduct, the Constitution
presumptively protects that conduct,
at which point the challenged
regulation is unconstitutional unless
the government can show that
the regulation is consistent with
this Nation's historical tradition
of firearm regulation.
While Bruen had recognized " the
Second Amendment guarantees
a general right to public carry for
self-defense, " including handguns
which " were in common use for
self-defense, " the federal district
court acknowledged " the Ordinance
governs the activity of carrying
guns in County Parks which
are public places. "
Applying Bruen jurisprudence,
the federal district court would,
therefore, first require Plaintiffs to
establish that the Second Amendment's
text presumptively protected
the conduct the County seeks
to regulate with the Ordinance,
i.e., carrying guns in County
Parks. In this particular case, the
court characterized the Plaintiffs
as three " ordinary, law-abiding,
adult citizens, " who wish to carry
their " concealed handguns " in the
Parks for self-protection.
Accordingly, in the opinion of
the federal district court, " the Second
Amendment's 'right to keep
and bear arms' presumptively guarantees
Plaintiffs' right to bear arms
in County Parks for self-defense. "
Consistent with Bruen, the County
would, therefore, have to " bear the
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | NOVEMBER 2 0 2 4 | Parks & Recreation
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November 2024 – Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2024 – Parks & Recreation
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 2
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 3
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 4
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 5
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 6
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 7
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November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 21
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 22
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 23
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 24
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 25
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November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 53
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 54
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 55
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 56
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
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https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
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https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
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https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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