Councilman seeks permit to sell guns from home

VIRGINIA BEACH

Councilman Bill DeSteph has applied to the city for a permit to sell guns out of a Great Neck home he will be moving into this summer.

DeSteph, a gun collector, said he wants to expand his hobby into a business.

If the City Council approves the permit, DeSteph said, he will apply to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for a permit to be a licensed dealer.

"Once you're clear with city zoning, the federal requirements for dealers are the same out of your house or a storefront," ATF inspector Michael Adkins said.

Some of the councilman's future neighbors in Broad Bay Point Greens expressed concern about him selling guns.

"Personally, I'm against it," said Brian Boyce, the neighborhood civic league president. "I don't know Bill DeSteph, and I don't want to take any kind of strong stand until I see what's what."

Three people in Virginia Beach have city permits to sell guns from their homes, city records show.

DeSteph built a 17-by-10-foot concrete vault to store and show guns in the 8,000-square-foot waterfront home he bought in December 2008 for $3.4 million.

He listed targeted clientele in the permit application as "elected officials, law enforcement, military and other dealers and collectors."

"We have other elected officials who collect guns," he said.

DeSteph said he wasn't sure how many guns he owns.

"Honestly, I'd have to count," he said.

He estimated he has close to 20, including pistols, shotguns, rifles and machine guns. In his collection are machine guns manufactured before 1986, the year federal legislation banned civilians from owning machine guns made after that date, he said. As a result, those guns tend to be valuable.

"The good thing is they appreciate on average 10 to 15 percent a year," DeSteph said. "They are a darn good investment. Some people collect art, I collect guns."

DeSteph's application will be evaluated mainly for zoning issues, such as land use, traffic, number of employees and signage, said Karen Lasley, the city's zoning administrator.

"You can't just hang out a shingle and have people walk off the street," she said.

A spokeswoman for a local group that opposes gun violence applauded DeSteph for pursuing an ATF permit.

"It's a good thing," said Alice Mountjoy of the Norfolk-based Virginia Center for Public Safety.

"A lot of people are selling from their private collections without any license all. He'll have to do background checks. The thing I'd be concerned about if I was a neighbor is who is coming to buy these guns."

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com