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Anti-gunners' mischarachterization of lawful gun carry in restaurants (courtesy of Oleg Volk)
If bill sponsors and gun owners get their way in Virginia and New Mexico this year, they will be able to carry concealed handguns inside alcohol serving restaurants just like they already do in public shopping malls, movie theaters, and most other public places. Gun owners and their civil rights groups pushing for these reforms are buoyed by the recent repeal of similar bans in Tennessee, Arizona, and Georgia.
The Virginia bill is patroned by Delegate Mark Cole (R - Spotsylvania, Fauquier, and Stafford Counties) and the New Mexico bill is sponsored by Senator George Munoz (D - Gallup), and according to the National Rifle Association, being fast tracked by Governor Bill Richardson (D), which will make the bill eligible for consideration during what is primarily a budget-only session.
Should both bills pass, there will be only 7 states left still banning handgun carry in alcohol serving eateries. Philip Van Cleave, President of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), Virginia's largest gun rights group, previously told the Examiner.com that repeal of Virginia's ban on concealed carry in alcohol serving restaurants is one of his group's "top priorities." A VCDL sponsored online petition can be viewed and signed here.
Comments
Banning gun carriers from restaurants that serve alcohol is about as crazy as banning people with car keys in their pocket from the same places.
I carry a firearm whenever and wherever legal, and I have way to much sense to get intoxicated when I have a gun, in exactly the same way as I have too much sense to drive when I'm drunk.
It does make sense to have laws like Utah's which ban the carrying of a concealed weapon when your BAL is above the limit - the same limit as the ban on DUI.
Drunk in charge of a motor vehicle kills far more people than drunk in charge of a firearm. If you can be trusted not to get in the first position, you aren't likely to get in the other one either.
What John said.
I daresay that many, if not most, of the people responsible for killing someone in a motor vehicle accident aren't escaped career criminals on their Third Strike. It's mostly otherwise law abiding people with a valid Driver's License.
The level of care and handling that those with concealed firearms exhibit is exceedingly high.
The level of care and handling that those behind the wheels of vehicles exhibit is exceedingly low, by comparison to gun carriers.
Keeping and bearing arms is a Creator given right. Driving a vehicle anywhere other than on your private property is a privilege. Comparing rights with privileges is not a wise thing to do.
Keeping and bearing arms is a Creator given right. Driving a vehicle anywhere other than on your private property is a privilege. Comparing rights with privileges is not a wise thing to do.
Tennessee needs to be returned to red--Carry Banned--on your map. Davidson County Chancellor Bonnyman declared Tennessee's carry-in-restaurants law "unconstitutionally vague"--too complicated for us to understand.
We can already carry OPENLY in restaurants that serve alcohol. I'm not sure what difference these out of touch lawmakers think its going to make to allow you to pull your tshirt overtop of it while you are eating.
Crazy.
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