Posted on 05/12/2008 11:27:49 AM PDT by JZelle
The patrons at Champps in Reston, an upscale restaurant and bar chain, were eating ribs and drinking beer on a recent Saturday when customer Bruce Jackson stood up and made an announcement: He was armed, and so were dozens of other patrons.
The armed customers stood up in unison, showing off holstered pistols. Mr. Jackson said a word or two about the rights of gun owners to carry firearms in Virginia, then thanked everyone for his or her attention and sat down.
And the diners returned to their burgers and Budweisers.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) organized the dinner at Champps to prove a point: that the presence of armed customers in Northern Virginia restaurants would elicit little more than shrugs.
The dinner — and several other restaurant visits throughout Northern Virginia last month — were a response to comments from the majority leader in the state Senate, Democrat Richard L. Saslaw, who said during a legislative debate that armed patrons would be unwelcome in Northern Virginia restaurants.
"In most urban areas, you walk into a restaurant with a gun on your hip, they're going to tell you to get out," Mr. Saslaw said.
In fact, with a few exceptions, the gun owners got their meals. The group went to eight different restaurants last month — at two of them, they were asked to leave. More often than not, though, their presence failed to generate a stir.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Way, way cool.
I remember going to the library on a college campus once and seeing a couple of off duty cops there. They had their “concealed” duty weapons hanging out of their waist bands, where I could have grabbed one of them and caused a great deal of harm, had I been of a mind to do so. They had no more consciousness of carrying a gun that you would of wearing a pair of cowboy boots, and nobody expressed fear or concern of any kind.
I would be far more conscious of wearing cowboy boots that I ever would of carrying a firearm.
I hope they each left a cartridge as a tip at those 2...
Reminds me of a time I was at our old hangout, Coalie Harry’s in Winchester, VA. It was a Saturday night and there was plenty of hard booze, hot nerdy girls, and lively conversation. All of a sudden a really wild SOB pulls up in a chopped out Sportster and walks in with an army service revolver - blued - on one hip and a skanky gal on the other. Walks up to the bar, orders a drink, hits the bathroom (prolly for a line or two) and then starts yelling to everybody on how he thinks we’re all “probably scared of the gun” and how we “don’t understand our rights.” The whole Number One Ass routine. We all just sort of let it go. Five minutes later he was called out of the bar and arrested... He was wanted on some charge or other and the bartender recognized him. I miss Winchester.
No, what we need here in Texas is UNlicensed concealed carry, just like they have in two other states in the Union.
I call BS on this story.
Champps is anything but upscale =)
No, leaving a cartridge would be seen as a threatening gesture.
Virginia has a “shall issue” concealed carry law (if you can buy a gun you can get a concealed carry); however, you CANNOT carry concealed anyplace that serves alcohol by the drink, but you can open carry there.
The legislature passed a law this year that would have allowed concealed carry in bars and restaurants as long as you weren’t drinking, but the liberal governor vetoed it.
Well, I’m an armed Virginian, too. But I keep mine concealed...we have that right (every place except an ABC-site where the law is oft broken, thanks to Gov. Kaine)!
Don’t even need the permit to carry concealed anywhere in VA. I hate Maryland!
You DO need a permit to carry concealed in VA, you DON’T need one to open carry. However, it’s not a big deal to get the permit and it only takes a few weeks.
Fair enough, the people that tend to carry guns are correspondingly not really in the victim demographic, armed or unarmed.
This would have been interesting in Northwest DC, where patrons packing heat might well have an opportunity to unload them on the way home.
Of course, the people that need to carry guns, usually can't or are unwilling to do so.
At least these guys have the stones to push the issue in public. Kaine is an idiot, but then so is Fenty.
VCDL rocks!
Tomas Nolasco of Reston said he hadn't noticed the guns and didn't care as long as the owners weren't drinking. (They weren't.) ...An eminently sensible comment + concern. I'm surprised that the journalist left it in.
His wife was a little more concerned. "There are families in here, children in here," Cathy Nolasco said. "It bothers me." ...and that, FReepers, sums up the difference between Conservatives and Liberals in two easy quotes.
Conservative voiced a legit concern (no drinking while carrying). Liberal was all about FEEEEEEEELINGs and said that it was "for the children".
Great article.
Every now and then I get into Winchester. I’m pretty sure I’ve been to Coalie Harry’s...An English pub type place, isn’t it? If so...alittle too tight/close in there for some “winner” needing to prove himself.
Actually, if the Texas Constitution’s RKBA is interpreted exactly as written, we DO have open carry.
Only problem I see with this story is the Budweiser.
Doh! Meant OPEN. Thanks for the correction. I’m just jealious of you all.
I find it far more disturbing to have to eat next to someone’s screaming brat than to possibly see a pistol.
Yeah, worried for the children. Uh huh. Hey, you stupid libdim, what are the chances some whack job who wants to shoot up a bar is going to walk in there, see all the people carrying openly, and then still go on his rampage? Or even just a plain old robber? ZERO.
BTW, “stupid libdim” in my comment above refers to Mrs. Nolaso, not wbill. (Obviously, but just wanted to make sure it was 100% clear.)
Coalies isn’t what it used to be... But neither am I ! Yes, it’s the little pub right next to the pedestrian mall. Kinda sleazed out now but it used to be a great place to while away a night.
While I appreciate Mr. Jackson's statement, his emphasis on Virginia is misleading. This is because the 2nd and 14th Amendments prohibit any state from infringing on the personal right to keep and bear arms.
The problem with gun rights is that widespread constitutional ignorance is giving the states a foothold to unconstitutionally limit this right. Widespread constitutional ignorance is evidenced by the following links.
http://tinyurl.com/npt6tAgain, given that most people don't really know the Constitution and its history, they are impotent to stop the states from infringing on their constitutional rights, gun rights and religious rights in particular.
http://tinyurl.com/hehr8
Regarding our constitutional gun rights, note that John Bingham, the main author of Sec. 1 of the 14th A., and the 39th Congress clarified that the 2nd A. was a personal right when the 14th A. was made. So there is no doubt in my mind that the 2nd and 14th Amendments protect the personal right to keep and bear arms from both the federal and state governments as much as any other constitutional privilege and immunity protects other personal rights.
See the 2nd A. in the middle column of the following page from one of Bingham's discussions about the 14th A. in the Congressional Globe, a precursor to the Congressional Record.
http://tinyurl.com/y3ne4nBear in mind that the referenced page is dated for more than two years after the ratification of the 14th Amendment. So Bingham was evidently trying to reassure his colleagues about the scope and purpose of the ratified 14th Amendment.
Since I’m not a “stupid libdim”, I could ascertain the party to which you were addressing. It’s still nice to know that someone read my post. :-)
Meanwhile, in Falmouth, MA, the chief of police refuses to issue any LTC except for use on a firing range.
Even a silver bullet?
What’s wrong with Budweiser?
Does Mass still have that mandatory one year sentence if you’re caught with a gun? I remember that warning back in the 80s as I drove across state lines.
If there’s vampires, I guess.
j/k
Meanwhile, in Falmouth, MA, the chief of police refuses to issue any LTC except for use on a firing range.Funny I read this today -- just picked up my new FID.
Well, that would send a message to vampires (and werewolves too) ;)
But, I was thinking of the Lone Ranger’s calling card.
On a more serious note concerning your initial reply, yes, I did consider that someone might feel a bullet left as a tip, to be a threat of some sort. (I even thought about “Why punish a waitress?” as well.) But one could also leave a little note with the bullet (as well as a regular tip) “Not meant as a threat, but just a tip: an armed customer may save your life some day”
Bleech. IMHO.
That reminds me of a good story. Wanna hear it? Here it goes...
My wife and I had recently moved (been transfered with my job) from TX to the DC area. We lived in MD because we couldn't afford to live in VA. Anyway, we attended a company function that went late near Fairfax. We did not know our way around DC. We left with a sound set of directions to get us home. First stop was a gas station as we were low on fuel. We got lost. We knew what road we needed and that it ran north and south. Just keep going east and we'll find it. Surely there is a gas station between here and there. Right?
Holy smokes!!! I thought I had seen some scary neighborhoods in Oakland, CA. I was amazed at how many folks were just loitering around at 1:00 AM on a Sat. morning. I was more amazed at just how little gas our 4x4 explorer had how many people stared at us at every light. I couldn't catch a green light to save my life and that is exactly what kept going through my mind. I found a gas station and decided $5 of gas would get us to safety. Before exiting the vehicle, my wife, who knows nothing of gun laws, says, "Please tell me you have your gun." I lied. It made her feel safer.
I confessed when we got home. She was upset but admitted that her thinking I was armed reassured her that we would make home.
PS - We did finally escape from MD and are now back in the Midwest at least this state shall issue a lifetime CCW.
I’m glad to hear you got out of there OK. That’s one place you never ever want to get lost in, and it’s really easy to get lost there. I experienced the same thing around 4AM in a shiny blue sports car, and no, I wasn’t armed!
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