Virginians, Write the Governor!

[ZeSpectre]

From the VCDL http://www.vcdl.org

RESTAURANT BAN REPEAL - CONTACT GOVERNOR KAINE ASAP

Now that the restaurant ban repeal has passed the House, we need to absolutely bombard the governor with email, phone calls, and letters!

Let's get the Governor's attention with a breathtaking barrage of contacts with a magnitude he hasn't seen before!

***Folks, this is the furthest that we have ever gotten the restaurant ban repeal in the 13 years we have been trying to get it repealed. This is our chance to get that issue put behind us.***

Get your friends, family and co-workers to contact the Governor and ask him to sign SB 476 into law. For those in gun clubs, make absolutely sure ever member and their family does this.

We need to work this and work it hard!

If you are tired of the restaurant ban and want to move the ball forward for the first time on this issue, HERE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY! Trust me on this, DO NOT SIT THIS ONE OUT!

Time is short, so please start now!

To contact the Governor, first call him at (804) 786-2211 and leave a short message simply asking him to support SB 476 (restaurant ban repeal).

Next, click on the line below to bring up the Governor's electronic contact form (if clicking doesn't work, copy and paste the line into your browser):

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

Fill in your name, address, and email address.

Paste in the message subject: "Please SUPPORT SB 476!"

Paste in the following message, or type in one of your own, and then click "Submit":

--

Please sign SB 476 into law!

SB 476 allows the most trustworthy group of citizens in the Commonwealth, concealed handgun permit holders, to be able to carry concealed in restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages. The permit holder is prohibited from consuming any alcoholic beverages while doing so.

This bill absolutely does NOT "mix guns and alcohol" because it contains appropriate penalties and even a notification provision.

SB 476 does allow permit holders to enjoy a meal with their families without having to either unnecessarily handle a loaded gun & leave it in their car, where it can be stolen and used in a crime, or to have to carry the gun openly.

Currently THIRTY-SEVEN other states allow concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcohol and have done so successfully because of the law-abiding nature of permit holders.

I urge you to stand with Virginia's 149,000 permit holders and to support SB 476!

Please let me know what you are going to do.

 

[ZeSpectre]

I modified the text above slightly to add my own voice...

Dear Governor Kaine,

Please sign SB 476 into law!

As a CCW permit holder I have been forced to make an unpalatable choice every time I want to eat at a decent restaurant. I can either A) leave my firearm locked but -unattended- in my automobile (a choice I'm not fond of given the rate of vehicle break-in and theft) or B) "blow my cover" and switch to open carry which has the dual effect of wasting all the time, money, and effort I went to in order to obtain a CCW permit, and also sometimes upsets the more easily disturbed among us.

Please do not fall prey to the rhetoric about "Guns and alcohol" or "wild west shootouts". Many permit holders have already been doing the "open CCW" bit in Virginia's eateries for years now. We haven't been a problem in the past. We won't be a problem in the future. In short, CCW permit holders ARE NOT A PROBLEM and we don't need to be "solved" by legislation.

Currently THIRTY-SEVEN other states allow concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcohol and have done so successfully because of the law-abiding nature of permit holders. Identical concerns about such bills, namely the worry over “guns and alcohol” and the fear that “every argument will be settled with gunfire”, have been raised EVERY time, and have proven groundless EVERY TIME!

SB 476 does allow permit holders to enjoy a meal with their families without having to either unnecessarily handle a loaded gun & leave it in unattended their car where it could be stolen and used in a crime, or to have to carry the gun openly.

I urge you to stand with Virginia's 149,000 civic minded, law abiding, permit holders and support SB 476!

Please let me know what you are going to do.

Sincerely
.....

 

[roguejestyr]

just sent Gov. Kaine an email. i hope more folks contact him about this issue.

 

[tinygnat219]

Sent mine in and left 2 messages already.

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

Below is the letter I sent.

One might find it odd that I am writing to you to support a bill which does not effect me, but that is what I am doing.

As a law enforcement officer I am exempt from the firearms ban which currently prohibits concealed carry in establishments which serve alcohol. I do not believe, however, that I should stand idly by and watch while my fellow citizens are disarmed and deprived of their rights to defend themselves when they enter a restaurant that also happens to sell alcohol.

Leaving firearms in vehicles, which the current law nearly forces citizens to do, creates a dangerous situation where they may be stolen.

The crime rate among concealed carry permit holders is astonishingly low, and I see no reason why opening up more areas to carry would change that.

It did not change under state preemption when parks and libraries were opened up to concealed carry. It also did not change when school parking lots were opened up. The permit holders of this state have demonstrated for years their capability for rational behavior.

As any officer can tell you, those who obey laws are not the problem society faces, and those who disobey law are not dissuaded by additional laws such as the restaurant ban. The law in its current state serves absolutely no legitimate purpose and only serves to punish the innocent.

Please sign SB 476 into law!

Currently THIRTY-SEVEN other states allow concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcohol and have done so successfully because of the law-abiding nature of permit holders.

I urge you to stand with Virginia's 149,000 permit holders and to support SB 476!

Please let me know what you are going to do.

 

[TheReeves]

Good letter Master. I've been posting the VA-Alert on every forum I belong to, I hope others are doing the same (Someone posted it in Legal here).

 

[chris in va]

Posted my letter. I wanted him to get a feel for what we have to go through when dining out, and also pointed out most of the permit holders I know don't drink when carrying anyway. We have a good track record, need to keep it up.

 

[oda226]

Posted my letter and forwarded this info to other CCW holders I know.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Master, I like the letter.
Everyone else, good job...let's keep pushing this hard, we have a VERY short deadline and we need to make a LOT of noise on this issue or we're going to get cut off again.

I may not care for Kaine in particular, but he does seem to actually listen when the citizens speak and take what is said into serious consideration.