McDonnell Signs Restaurant Bill

Finally, after years of unsubstantiated rhetoric and warnings from the left (also unsupported in any statistical presentation on the subject) that restaurants will turn into O.K. Corral-esque shootouts, Virginia governor Bob McDonnell today signed the overwhelmingly supported legislation permitting customers to enter restaurants which also serve alcohol for on-site consumption and carry their personal firearms lawfully concealed.

Virginia follows in the footsteps of 42 other states which presently allow concealed carry in restaurants.

The law (repeal) goes into effect on July 1, 2010.

Up to that point (and beyond) citizens may continue to openly carry their personal defense weapons.

More Inanity From Virginia Beach Police Chief Jake Jacocks

Allowing guns in bars is a recipe for disaster. We can fully expect that at some point in the future a disagreement that today would likely end up in a verbal confrontation, or a bar fight, will inevitably end with gunfire if you sign this legislation into law. Whether it is the armed citizen who drinks in a bar and gets into such a confrontation, or the armed citizen doesn't drink and is pulled into a confrontation by someone who has been drinking - the potential for display and/or discharge of the firearm is unquestionably high.　 Serious injuries resulting from patrons fleeing in panic once someone yells "He's got a gun!" or a death resulting from either discharge of the weapon or the reaction to the weapon by the establishment’s security personnel will be the rule, rather the exception.

Once again another idiot with a badge presumes to know what will happen if law-abiding citizens are permitted to carry their personal defense weapons lawfully.

SB334 Passes House

Virginia's 17-y.o. tradition of barring lawfully concealed firearms carriers from doing so in restaurants that serve alcohol (there is no such thing as a "bar" in the Commonwealth, despite flaccid argument to the contrary) is in the final stages of being eliminated, at least partly.

SB334 will permit a lawfully-armed citizen holding a valid CHP (Concealed Handgun Permit) to carry their personal firearm into a restaurant concealed as long as they do not drink any alcohol.

Until the passage of this bill, which heads to the Speaker today, then to the Lieutenant Governor before being placed on the Governor's desk for signature (he has all but assured he will honor all pro-liberty bills that reach his desk this session), citizens wishing to enter an establishment which served alcohol in the Commonwealth were required to carry openly; in plain view.

For many, this does not meet with their particular level of comfort and had been a thorn in the side of gun-rights supporters for many years as it was one of the few instances where the "special" status of a conceal carrier (sometimes known as "VIP" carry) was not superior to the Constitutionally and statutorily-recognized right to carry.

Other bills passing and heading to the Governor shortly are SB3, which allows CHP holders to renew their permits by mail and SB408 which allows anyone who may lawfully possess a firearm in Virginia to store his weapon in a locked container or compartment without a CHP.

The "Restaurant" Bill

In the majority of states throughout the country it is perfectly legal for someone who has taken the proper steps, passed the required criminal background check and voluntarily registered himself with his state's government to lawfully carry a concealed firearm into his favorite dining establishment, even if they <gasp!> serve alcoholic beverages.

Virginia is a strange animal in this respect. According to [current] Virginia statutory law it is illegal for anyone not exempted by special status (§ 18.2-308 (B))to carry a concealed handgun into such an establishment. They may, however, openly carry a firearm into those same establishments and, if they so desire, enjoy an adult beverage.

There has been a recent and well-deserved resurgence of Constitutionally-minded legislation being introduced in the VA House and Senate pushing to bring Virginia's conceal-carry status more in line with the national standard, but the opponents of such legislation continue to assail us with the same talking-point arguments that have been statistically disproven in nearly every instance.