Tell VA's Governor what you think about...

[paramedic70002]

concealed weapons in bars instead of open carry:

Official Site of the Governor of Virginia

My comments:

Governor Kaine,

Please do not veto the "concealed handgun in restaurants that serve alcohol" bill.

As you are aware, Virginians already have the right to openly carry handguns into restaurants that serve alcohol, and this right has been fundamentally shown to be without danger to the public. I do not know of any instances where a permittee perpetrated a gun crime in this situation.

This bill would only allow CHP permit holders to conceal their handguns instead of having to have them visible.

The benefits:

1. Patrons who suffer from hoplophobia, a fear of weapons, will not be alarmed by seeing openly armed citizens.

2. Criminals bent on armed robbery would probably target openly armed citizens first.

3. Armed citizens who carry their handguns in holsters not easily made visible, such as ankle holsters or "inside the pocket" holsters like mine, would not be forced to disarm.

4. Permittees who are uncomfortable openly carrying their handgun currently must remove their weapons prior to entering these establishments, and then replace them afterwards. Unneccesary manipulation of firearms statistically increases the chance for a negligent discharge.

Thank you,

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[gwhall57]

Good message. I copied your letter text, and sent if off to the Gov. Let's hope he signs the bill .

[HKinNY]

Do you want people from other states to reply to your governor?

[f8lranger4x4]

Message sent!!

[SIGguy229]

Made some edits and sent...

[4my son]

Already done, sent this out a couple of days ago.

Governor Kaine,

I am writing to you as a father, a husband, and a fellow citizen of Virginia to ask that you support several of the bills to relax restrictions on the Law Abiding citizens of this fine state. Please take into consideration that "we" the law abiding citizens of Virginia, especially those of us who have gone through the training, application process and considerable time and expense to obtain a valid concealed handgun permit have been the most respectful of Virginia's laws, and have proven ourselves to be the safest body of citizens across our nation. Our only goal is to protect ourselves and our families when we have no other options or avenues of escape. While others will contend that there should be places that guns should be forbidden, they fail to take into consideration the vulnerability they create while going to and from those very establishments, where crimes are most likely to occur. The cry of those apposed to citizens having the means of self protection have used statements such as "the streets will run red with the blood of the innocent," thankfully and not surprisingly, that has not come to be. Those of us mentioned at the start of this letter take this responsibility very seriously. And we prove our lack of desire for wanton destruction each and every day. We control our emotions and anger every time we drive our cars for all the same reasons we would never just shoot someone without a clear danger to ourselves or our loved ones. It’s not the job or responsibility of Law Enforcement to protect us as individual citizens, nor should it be, it’s far to impracticable to expect such. Please help us to protect ourselves and our families.

Bills I am asking you to support are:
SB 476 Repeal of Restaurant ban
SB 438 Vehicle carry in locked container
HB 529 Easing the CHP change of address / renewal
HB 873 Stating that CHP training will not expire.

Thanks in advance

[turbo93]

my response

Virginians already have the right to openly carry handguns into restaurants that serve alcohol, and this right has been fundamentally shown to be without danger to the public. I do not know of any instances where a permittee perpetrated a gun crime in this situation. Morover the current bill will do nothing to change the right people already have to opne carry and consume alchol while openly displaying their legaly carried weapon. The bill will however make it ilegal to consume alchol which is a considerable advantage I believe. Statisics have clearly shown the legal citizens who carry weapons are not the threat and it is time the state treated us as the responsible adults we are. Thank you
Thanks for the site to send the message to Kaine.

All in all a stupid modification . I am really looking foward to telling my 18 yo server. BTW I am carrying a gun. I usuall do not drink when I go out and I would not drink if carrying anyway. The law does not change your rights as far as opne carry os if you wanted to have a drink all you had to do was the Virginia Tuck. Stupid and ignorent I did note who did and did not support it however

[archer51]

Sent mine off, not that I am covinced it will help.

Governor Kaine,

I am respectfully writing asking you to support the rights of law abiding people of Virginia.

SB 476 will allow individuals who have gone to the expense and the training to get a conceal handgun permit to carry concealed in resturants. This is a very small change in the law. As you know it is completely legal to carry openly in resturants now.

To my knowledge there has not been any instances of legally carrying individuals brandishing or discharging a weapon in one of these establishment. To think that just because they are now hidden from view that will change does not make any sense.

Statistics have proven that conceal carry permit holders are one of the most law abiding groups on a whole.

To disarm prior to entering a resturant and then rearming after leaving causes un necessary handling of a weapon, this is when most accidental weapon discharges occur.

By disarming it forces an individual to leave a weapon unsecured in their vehicle. This increase the possibility of theft and putting a weapon in the hands of a criminal.

Again I ask that you sign SB 476 into law, allowing myself and other law abiding citizens the right to protect themselves.

Thank you for your time.

[DrLax]

Message sent.

[Pitbull]

Hope he reads it:

Gov. Kaine -

I write to respectfully request that you not veto SB 476, the bill that allows concealed carry permit (CCP) holders to carry concealed weapons in restaurants and bars provided they don't consume alcoholic beverages.

Sir, I submit to you that CCP holders are among the highest caliber (no pun intended!) citizens in this great Commonwealth. You KNOW that we are law abiding, good people as we have passed quite thorough background investigations and have taken required training to responsibly handle firearms. Many of us, including myself, are veterans or former police officers. We carry weapons not only to defend ourselves but those who chose not to carry and, in a terrible situation such as Virginia Tech or NIU, would otherwise be victimized. No CCP holder would EVER drink alcohol while carrying - in short, sir, we are NOT the ones you should worry about. We always fall on the side of law and order.

The argument that weapons are not needed in restaurants is simply preposterous. To suggest such implies that one does not need to defend themselves and others in a restaurant because violent crime doesn't exist there. We both know that isn't true.

It is proven fact that CCP laws DO lower crime - please, allow it to continue. Allow your citizens who care enough about their rights to submit the required paperwork and volunteer for a background inspection to exercise those rights.

Sincerely,
Andy Rogers

[wht06rado]

Sent mine off a few hours ago. Hopefully the mass e-mails will help a little!