19660215 1966-2-bOrdinance No. 1966-2B
AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE SALE OF CERTAIN WEAPONS
A. Definitions
The following terms, whenever used in this article
shall have the meanings respectively set forth in this
section, unless a different meaning is clearly required
by the context:
.~pplicant: Any person, firm, or corporation applying
to the Chief of Police for a certificate of registration
to sell firearms or for authority to purchase a pistol.
Chief of Police: The Chief of the City of Fairfax
Police Department or his designated agent.
Crime of Violence: Any of the following crimes or an
attempt to commit any of the same, to-wit: Murder,
voluntary manslaughter, rape, robbery, burglary,
kidnapping, mayhem, and assault.
Fixed Ammunition: Any ammunition composed of a
projectile or projectiles, a casing and a primer,
all of which shall be contained as one unit.
Habitual Drunkard: Any person who has been convicted
of being drunk in public three or more times within
a period of one year.
Licensed Dealer: Any person, firm or corporation
engaged in the business of selling at retail or
renting pistols in the City of Fairfax, who is either
licensed, or required to be licensed, as such under
State or Federal Law.
Person: As used in this Ordinance includes individual,
firm, association, or corporation.
Pistol: Any firearm with a barrel less than sixteen
inches in length that uses fixed ammunition.
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B. Dealers Registration Required -- Appeal
(1) Any person, before engaging in the business of
selling at retail or renting pistols in the City of Fairfax,
virginia, shall be required to register with the Chief of
Police on application forms furnished by the Chief of Police.
The application form shall contain the following information:
a. Name and business address.
b. Residence address.
c. Federal Firearms License Number.
d. If the dealer is a Virginia Corporation, the
name and addresses of the officers and directors
of said corporation.
e. If the dealer is a foreign corporation, the
name and addresses of the officers and directors
of said corporation and the name and address of
the Registered Agent for the purpose of service
of process in the State of Virginia°
f. A statement that the applicant or all members
of a firm or corporation applying for a license
is over the age of ~1 years, has not been
committed to an institution for treatment of
a mental illness or drug addiction in the past
10 years preceding the date of said application,
has not been convicted of a felony within the
past 10 years, has not been convicted of a
crime of violence, is not an habitual drunkard,
and has not been denied the privilege of selling
firearms in any other jurisdiction.
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The application shall be sworn to before a notary
public, by the applicant if he be an individual, if a firm
by one of the members, and if a corporation by the President.
Every application shall be accompanied by a fee of $25
payable to the City of Fairfax, which shall not be refundable
in any case.
(2) The Chief of Police shall conduct an investigation
of each application, shall approve the same within 10 days,
exclusive of Saturdsys, Sundays, and Holidays, from the date
of the filing of the same, and shall issue an appropriate
certificate of registration to the applicant, unless he
shall refuse and reject the application for any of the
following reasons:
a. The applicant is under the sge of zl years.
b. The applicant has been committed to an
institution for the treatment of mental illness
or drug addiction within 10 years prior to the
date of application.
c. The applicant has been convicted of a crime
of violence.
d. The applicant has been convicted of a felony
within the past 10 years.
e. The applicant is an habitual drunkard.
f. The applicant has been denied the privilege
of selling firearms in any other jurisdiction°
g. That any statement contained in the application
is untrue.
h. The applicant is not licensed by State or
Federal law or does not intend to engage in
the retail sale or rental of pistols in the
City of Fairfax.
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(3) The Chief of Police shall inform the applicant
of the reasons for the rejection, said information shall
not be privileged and the applicant, upon the filing of
the application, shall be deemed to have waived any privilege
for the nondisclosure thereof°
(4) Any applicant aggrieved by the determination of
the Chief of Police shall have the right of appeal as
hereinafter set forth.
C. Dealers Not To Sell, Etc.~ Without Registration
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to engage in the business of selling at retail
or renting pistols without having in force a registration
approved by the Chief of Police as hereinbefore provided°
(2) The registration shall be displayed on the premises
where the pistols are sold or rented.
(3) A licensed dealer shall conduct the sale or rental
of pistols only on the premises designated in the certificate.
D. Revocation Of Registration
(1) Conviction of a licensed dealer of a violation
of any of the provisions of this article shall be sufficient
cause for the Chief of Police to revoke the licensed dealer's
registration for the City of Fairfax for a period of time
not to exceed one year from the date of said revocation.
The notice of revocsticn of the registration shall be sent
by' the Chief of Police, by registered mail, to the premises
w~4ere the registration is displayed.
E. Dealers Not To Sell, Etc., To Minors and Other Persons
(1) No licensed dealer, or other person, shall sell,
barter, give or furnish, or cause to be sold, bartered,
given or furnished to any minor under 21 years of age, a
pistol, having good cause to believe him to be a minor under
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or other person
21 years of age nor shall any licensed dealer/sell, lend,
rent, or otherwise transfer any pistol to anY person whom
he has reasonable cause to believe has been convicted of
a crime of violence or a felony within the past 10 years,
or is a drug addict, or is an habitual drunkard, or is a
fugitive from justice or is of unsound mind, nor to any
person who has validly been denied the right to purchase,
borrow, rent, or otherwise acquire a pistol by the Chief
of Police under the provisions of this article.
F. Acquisition Of Pistols From Dealers Or Other Persons
(1) Any person desiring to purchase, borrow, rent or
otherwise acquire a pistol from a licensed dealer or other
person shall make application under oath on forms provided
by the Chief of Police which shall be signed in duplicate
by such person stating his full name, address, occupation,
place and date of birth, the date and hour of application,
the length of time he has resided in the Commonwealth of
Virginia prior to the application, all previous places of
residence outside of the State of Virginia for the past
10 years, and a statement that he has never been convicted
in this State or elsewhere of a crime of violence or a
felony within the past 10 years, that he is not an habitual
is
drunkard, or a drug addict, that he/not a fugitive from
justice, that he has not been denied the right to purchase
a pistol in any other jurisdiction, and that he has never
been committed to an institution for treatment of mental
illness from whic~~ he has not been discharged for a period
of 10 years prior to the date of his application to purchase
a pistol.
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(2) The licensed dealer or other person who proposes
to sell a pistol shall sign and attach his address to the
application and mail or deliver the same to the Chief of
Police. The Chief of Police shall mark the date and hour
of the receipt of the application in his office. The
original application shall remain the property of the Police
Department. A duplicate copy of the application shall be
retained by the dealer for six years.
G. Approval of Application
(1) No licensed dealer or other person shall sell,
rent, or transfer, any pistol to any purchaser who does
not exhibit an application approved by the Chief of Police.
H. Waitinq Period For Sale Of Pistols
(1) Except as hereinafter provided the Chief of Police
shall approve the application of a purchaser of a pistol
within 72 hours of the delivery of the same to the Chief
of Police, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays,
unless he shall ~ind one or more of the enumerated statements
on the application to be untrue.
(2) Where the applicant is a nonresident of the City
of Fairfax, but has been a resident
of the State of Virginia for more than 3 years, immediately
preceding the date of application the aforesaid time shall
be extended to 5 days°
(3) ~he..~e t~e app~i~icant is a nonresident or has not
resided in ~e St~te cf Virginia for a period of 3 years
next pr~cedi~g th, date of application the t~me ~¥all be
extend&~ to 30 das~s.
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I. Notice Of Rejection
(1) If, within the prescribed period, the Chief of
or other person
Police shall inform in writing the licensed dealer/who
proposes to sell the pistol that the application was
rejected for one or more of the following reasons, (a)
the applicant is under the age of 21 years, or (b) has
been committed to an institution for treatment of mental
illness, or drug addiction, and has not been discharged
therefrom for a period of 10 years preceding the date of
said application, or (c) has been convicted of a crime
of violence, or (d) has been convicted of a felony within
the past 10 years, or (e) is an habitual drunkard, or (f)
the applicant is a fugitive from justice, or (g) that a
statement on the application is untrue, it shall be
unlawful for the dealer to deliver the pistol to the applicant.
(2) A copy of the letter of denial of the Chief of
Police shall be furnished the applicant by the licensed
dealer°
J. Riqht Of ADpeal
(1) Any person aggrieved by a directive or denial by
the Chief of Police may, within 10 days of receipt of notice
thereof, appeal to the Municipal Court of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia, or other court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) For good cause shown the court may authorize the
sale of the weapon, or, in the case of an application for
registration by a licensed dealer, the court may direct the
Chief of Police to issue a registration certificate.
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K. Exemptions
(1) This article shall not apply to: (a) purchases by
any licensed dealer registered in accordance with the provisions
of this article, (b) rental of pistols by persons eighteen years
of age or over while used upon a supervised rifle or pistol range,
(c) the. delivery of a pistol to its lawful owner by any person
with whom such pistol has been left on consignment for safekeeping
or for repairs, or (d) a wholesale purchase from a licensed dealer
by any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of
manufacturing, repairing, or selling pistols at retail.
L. Penalties
(1) Any person who violates any provision of this Ordinance
or who willfully furnishes false information in the application
required herein shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon, convic-
tion thereof shall be punished as provided by law.
(2) Any weapon sold, rented, or transferred in violation of
this Ordinance shall be forfeited by the owner thereof, and shall
become the property of the Police Department of the City of Fairfax.
Adopted February 15, 1966
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