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http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story143797.html
from the Roanoke Times
from the Roanoke Times
Saturday, February 01, 2003
House panel OKs easing gun ban
Bill would allow concealed weapons in some restaurants that serve alcohol
By MICHAEL SLUSS
THE ROANOKE TIMES
RICHMOND - Neither restaurant owners nor gun owners cheered Friday when a House of Delegates committee endorsed legislation that would allow customers to carry concealed firearms into some establishments that serve alcohol.
The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee recommended approval for a controversial measure (HB 1977) that would partly lift the ban on concealed handguns in restaurants that serve beer, wine and liquor. If passed by the General Assembly, the legislation would allow customers with proper permits to carry concealed handguns into restaurants that rely on alcohol sales for no more than 30 percent of their food and beverage business.
The bill's sponsor said the measure will keep handguns out of "entertainment establishments" that rely heavily on alcohol sales, but allow permitted gun owners to carry concealed firearms into family restaurants.
"These are folks who are law-abiding citizens," said Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan County.
The committee approved the bill by a vote of 15-7. The measure now moves to the House floor, marking the first time lawmakers will have a chance to vote on easing the gun ban since Republicans expanded their majority to 64 seats in the 2001 elections. Democratic Gov. Mark Warner opposes a complete repeal of the concealed weapons ban, but an administration spokeswoman said the governor will review Ware's bill before taking a position on it.
Ware has tried unsuccessfully in previous years to lift the ban in all establishments that serve alcohol. In crafting this year's bill, Ware tried to address concerns raised by restaurant owners and gun control groups who complained that mayhem would ensue in restaurants and bars if gun-toting patrons had too much to drink.
But Ware's compromise measure encountered strong opposition Friday from people on both sides of the issue. A restaurant industry lobbyist criticized it for being too permissive, and gun owners complained that it is too restrictive.
"We don't need people who get agitated, upset and happen to have a weapon handy in restaurants, and that issue is further compounded when they're consuming alcohol," said Tom Lisk, a restaurant industry lobbyist.
Lisk, a Roanoke native, placed a liter bottle of whiskey and a gun on the lectern as he spoke to the committee, saying, "This is what this issue is about. It's about guns in restaurants that serve alcohol, guns in bars."
Some audience members at Friday's committee meeting donned buttons reading "I Just Lost My Appetite" and "Even Miss Kitty Made You Check Your Gun at the Door."
Advocates for banning guns in bars often point to a 1997 incident in Blacksburg, where identical twins Kerry and Terry Scales fired guns during a dance-floor brawl at a bar called Arnold's, leaving one man dead and another wounded. Two days before the incident, the Henry County Circuit Court had approved the twins' applications for concealed weapons permits.
Del. Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg, has opposed legislation to completely lift the ban on guns in bars. But he voted for Ware's bill Friday, saying the measure was strong enough to keep handguns out of popular Blacksburg nightspots.
"They're trying to make some accommodation to all the various parties involved in this," Shuler said. "They've worked all summer to come up with a compromise."
The bill's other supporters included Republicans Morgan Griffith of Salem, Dave Nutter of Christiansburg, Robert Hurt of Chatham and Ben Cline of Rockbridge County.
Guns-rights advocates called for an outright repeal of the concealed weapons ban and accused committee members of sacrificing principle for political expediency.
Ware's bill has the support of the influential National Rifle Association, but some Virginia gun-rights advocates wonder whether NRA officials carefully scrutinized the legislation.
"I'm convinced that when gun owners find out what this bill really does, they'll be angry," said Mike McHugh, president of the Front Royal-based Virginia Gun Owners Association. "I certainly don't want to be the one trying to explain to them that we passed this bill for political reasons."
Griffith, an ardent supporter of gun rights, conceded that Ware's bill "is a compromise that leaves much to be desired."
But, he added, "Let's try it this way for a few years and see if there's any truth to what the critics are saying."