W.E.G.
Member
VA-ALERT: ACTION ITEM: Restaurant Ban Repeal
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Van Cleave
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 11:32 PM
Subject: VA-ALERT: ACTION ITEM: Restaurant Ban Repeal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Governor Kaine is in a very interesting position on the restaurant ban
repeal this year.
Last year he vetoed a restaurant ban repeal that would have allowed
CHP holders to carry concealed as long as they didn't drink. However,
the Governor then turned around and signed another bill into law that
allowed off-duty, untrained, Commonwealth Attorneys to carry concealed
in restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages and even drink!
While the Governor denied that Commonwealth Attorneys would be able to
carry concealed in restaurants, the law was clear - they could. The
Attorney General agreed with VCDL and so did all the other attorneys
I consulted with.
This year the Governor has TWO restaurant ban repeal bills on his desk:
* The first, SB 877 (Martin), allows retired police officers from ANY
jurisdiction to carry concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol and
even drink while doing so
* The second, SB 1035 (Hanger), allows CHP holders to carry concealed
in restaurants as long as they don't drink
There is no way the Governor could miss the implications of the first
bill, as the only part of the code that it modifies is the part
dealing with concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcoholic
beverages. The change is direct and clear.
So the Governor has four choices as to what to do:
* Sign both bills and let ALL those who can legally carry concealed in
Virginia, carry concealed in restaurants. This would be consistent
with signing the Commonwealth Attorney bill last year and the fair
thing to do.
* Sign the retired police bill, but veto the CHP holder bill. This
would be the height of hypocrisy. By signing the bill last year
allowing off-duty Commonwealth Attorneys, untrained with firearms, to
carry concealed in all Virginia restaurants and drink, followed by
signing a bill this year to make it clear that vacationing, retired
game wardens from Hawaii can carry concealed in all Virginia
restaurants and drink, while denying a Virginia CHP holder concealed
carry in the same restaurants, even if the CHP holder doesn't drink,
would be indefensible.
* Sign the CHP holder bill, but veto the retired police bill. That
combination would never happen. But even so, a retired police officer
could simply get a CHP and he could then carry concealed in
restaurants, but would lose the ability to drink while doing so.
* Veto both bills.
Finally, the Governor has one other tool he can use - he can NOT sign
one or both bills, in which case they become law without his
blessing. That allows the will of the People to be addressed, while
allowing a governor to distance himself from the bill.
--
ACTION ITEM:
Let's flood the Governor's office with phone calls and emails. We
have a good bill that we can stand behind, so we need our voices to
ring out loud and clear.
The Governor's phone number: (804) 786-2211
The Governor's fax number: (804) 371-6351
The Governor's webmail address (double-click or copy/paste into your
browser):
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm
Suggested webmail subject:
Support BOTH SB 1035 and SB 877!
Suggested webmail (copy and paste into the webmail form):
Please sign SB 1035, which allows Virginia's most law-abiding
citizens, concealed handgun permit holders, to carry concealed in
restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages as long as they don't
consume alcoholic beverages. The bill passed both Houses with strong,
bipartisan support.
I encourage you to also sign SB 877, which allows retired law
enforcement officers, who are also law-abiding citizens, to carry
concealed in restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages.
-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
***************************************************************************
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Van Cleave
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 11:32 PM
Subject: VA-ALERT: ACTION ITEM: Restaurant Ban Repeal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Governor Kaine is in a very interesting position on the restaurant ban
repeal this year.
Last year he vetoed a restaurant ban repeal that would have allowed
CHP holders to carry concealed as long as they didn't drink. However,
the Governor then turned around and signed another bill into law that
allowed off-duty, untrained, Commonwealth Attorneys to carry concealed
in restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages and even drink!
While the Governor denied that Commonwealth Attorneys would be able to
carry concealed in restaurants, the law was clear - they could. The
Attorney General agreed with VCDL and so did all the other attorneys
I consulted with.
This year the Governor has TWO restaurant ban repeal bills on his desk:
* The first, SB 877 (Martin), allows retired police officers from ANY
jurisdiction to carry concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol and
even drink while doing so
* The second, SB 1035 (Hanger), allows CHP holders to carry concealed
in restaurants as long as they don't drink
There is no way the Governor could miss the implications of the first
bill, as the only part of the code that it modifies is the part
dealing with concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcoholic
beverages. The change is direct and clear.
So the Governor has four choices as to what to do:
* Sign both bills and let ALL those who can legally carry concealed in
Virginia, carry concealed in restaurants. This would be consistent
with signing the Commonwealth Attorney bill last year and the fair
thing to do.
* Sign the retired police bill, but veto the CHP holder bill. This
would be the height of hypocrisy. By signing the bill last year
allowing off-duty Commonwealth Attorneys, untrained with firearms, to
carry concealed in all Virginia restaurants and drink, followed by
signing a bill this year to make it clear that vacationing, retired
game wardens from Hawaii can carry concealed in all Virginia
restaurants and drink, while denying a Virginia CHP holder concealed
carry in the same restaurants, even if the CHP holder doesn't drink,
would be indefensible.
* Sign the CHP holder bill, but veto the retired police bill. That
combination would never happen. But even so, a retired police officer
could simply get a CHP and he could then carry concealed in
restaurants, but would lose the ability to drink while doing so.
* Veto both bills.
Finally, the Governor has one other tool he can use - he can NOT sign
one or both bills, in which case they become law without his
blessing. That allows the will of the People to be addressed, while
allowing a governor to distance himself from the bill.
--
ACTION ITEM:
Let's flood the Governor's office with phone calls and emails. We
have a good bill that we can stand behind, so we need our voices to
ring out loud and clear.
The Governor's phone number: (804) 786-2211
The Governor's fax number: (804) 371-6351
The Governor's webmail address (double-click or copy/paste into your
browser):
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm
Suggested webmail subject:
Support BOTH SB 1035 and SB 877!
Suggested webmail (copy and paste into the webmail form):
Please sign SB 1035, which allows Virginia's most law-abiding
citizens, concealed handgun permit holders, to carry concealed in
restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages as long as they don't
consume alcoholic beverages. The bill passed both Houses with strong,
bipartisan support.
I encourage you to also sign SB 877, which allows retired law
enforcement officers, who are also law-abiding citizens, to carry
concealed in restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages.
-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
***************************************************************************
