[jrhines]

From today's paper...
Have a Shot




Friday, January 31, 2003; Page A26


IT'S FRIGHTENING enough that Virginia law allows customers to pack heat in public places where alcohol is served if their holstered weapons are in full view. But every year some lawmaker with a posse of National Rifle Association lobbyists presses hard for the repeal of a ban on bringing hidden weapons to such establishments. For the third year in a row it's Del. R. Lee Ware Jr. of Powhatan at the ready, stressing his belief in the importance to public safety of the armed citizen. The bill is set for committee consideration today. Even with provisions barring anyone with a concealed weapon from drinking alcohol or limiting the repeal to places that accent food rather than booze, representatives of Virginia restaurant owners are strongly opposed. Says one, "We don't want to put our customers in harm's way." Lawmakers should put this bill out of the way.



© 2003 The Washington Post Company



Marvina Reynolds said it best, "Oh when will they ever learn...".

[2dogs]

Well of course- why would you want to allow people to carry firearms in restaurants and bars- when we all know they shouldn't have them at all.

Washington ComPost.:neener:

[David Park]

Although Del. Ware is trumpeting the NRA's approval, his bill is just just a bunch of twaddle that would create more problems than it solves. The VCDL (http://www.vcdl.org/) believes it is actually a back-door method by the restaurant association to avoid a complete repeal of the existing law, possibly by creating something so stupid that neither side can support it (except for the political geniuses at the NRA-ILA).

Hopefully the VCDL will succeed in getting it amended into something reasonable. To those of you down in Richmond today, good luck!

Here's the bill in question:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?031+sum+HB1997

[Leatherneck]

Yeah, the major gripe against Ware's bill is that it creates a new category of place called "entertainment establishment" that would have to post a sign saying "entertainment establishment" but which means "no concealed weapons." Any restaurant that wanted to could opt in as an entertainment establishment. We could actually LOSE places for legitimate carry with this bill. But hey: the NRA supports it, so it must be good, right?

TC
TFL Survivor

[TallPine]

Funny, they don't have to argue out all this stuff in Vermont

[PATH]

What TallPine said.