'Guns in Saloons': Common-sense rule of law in 40 states, soon 41

North Carolina's concealed-carry law prohibits permit holders from carrying in an establishment that serves alcohol, even if they don't drink a drop. Virginia is about to join the 40 states which do not have such a silly restriction and the Washington Times urges the new governor to sign the legislation into law in an editorial titled "Guns in Saloons." I liked it so much I stole whole thing.

Someone who is drunk shouldn't be handling a gun, but that doesn't justify a ban on concealed carrying in all places that serve alcohol. On Tuesday, the Virginia House of Delegates joined the state Senate and voted 72-to-27 to overturn this ban. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's signature is all that stands in the way of getting rid of this dangerous restriction.

Over the past two decades, a sweeping wave of freedom has allowed more citizens to carry concealed handguns. States have realized that there is little reason to restrict the carrying of concealed handguns by those who have received permits. Forty states currently allow concealed handguns to be carried in places that serve alcohol. None of the states that have allowed this freedom has cause to reverse the decision.

The facts are clear. Despite misleading claims to the contrary by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Violence Policy Center, permit holders are law-abiding individuals who are extremely careful with their guns. This general rule applies in states that allow concealed handguns in bars. Permit holders simply haven't been getting liquored up and harming others through irresponsible conduct. Virginia hasn't had any problem with open carry in restaurants, so it's hard to understand why anyone thinks there could be a problem with concealed handguns.

Take Florida and Texas, two states that allow concealed handguns in bars. Between Oct. 1, 1987, and Jan. 31, 2010, Florida issued permits to more than 1.7 million people. Only 167 have had their permits revoked for any firearms-related violations. That is a minuscule 0.0098 percent revocation rate. The vast majority of those revocations were not for violence, but merely for accidentally carrying a gun into a gun-free zone. During the past 16 months, there was only one incident involving a firearms-related violation.

The numbers are similar in Texas. Over the five years from 2002 to 2006, the average rate at which permit holders were convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony was 0.04 percent. In 2006, the most frequent reason for revocation involved permit holders carrying a concealed handgun without keeping their licenses on them. The forthcoming third edition of "More Guns, Less Crime" shows that in other right-to-carry states, permit holders are just as law-abiding. That book finds no evidence that revocation rates are any higher in states that allow permitted handguns in taverns.

What gun prohibitions do is create dangerous gun-free zones - places where criminals intent on harming others feel confident they can commit crimes with impunity. A criminal who takes his gun into a gun-free zone knows that the good law-abiding citizens, his victims, are sitting ducks. A government that maintains laws like that is not looking after the interests of its citizens.

It's past time for the commonwealth to take aim at counterproductive laws that endanger Virginians. With a flick of his pen, Mr. McDonnell can correct this problem and modernize Virginia's right-to-carry law.

I hope common sense will break out in the N.C. Legislature to pass a similar repeal of our law. It's common sense that permit holders have a right to defend themselves anywhere, but particularly in a saloon where some drunk might get up the courage to shoot a few people, just for the hell of it. If the drunk knows the saloon is a gun-free zone, he's far more likely to shoot.

Just because I'm sitting in a restaurant that serves alcohol doesn't mean I'm drinking, and it does mean I want my right to be armed and ready if some fool decides to shoot a few people.

Might as well tell a joke on that topic while I'm here. Mrs. Smith was a gossip and she started blabbing in church one Sunday, "Do you know where I saw Deacon Jones' pickup truck? It was parked at that new restaurant in town that serves alcohol! I just know he was sitting at the bar getting drunk, but I wouldn't set foot in that place, so I didn't actually see him drinking."

Word quickly got to Deacon Jones about the slander, but he didn't say a word to Mrs. Smith. But that Monday when he got off work, he drove his pickup truck to Mrs. Smith's house down the street from where he lived, parked it her yard and walked home for the night.

Next Sunday, Mrs. Smith was strangely quiet with not a word of gossip to spread.

Excercise your right-to-carry in National Parks -- very carefully

I've already posted about the right-to-carry in national parks, but NRA-ILA gives you the basic facts plus a link to check on your state laws, which unfortunately trump this particular fed law.

On February 22, a new law took effect that applied state firearms laws to national parks and wildlife refuges across America.

The implementation of the new law, which the National Park Service (NPS) has planned for since passage of H.R. 627 last May, has so far been without major problems. NPS management reports that it has worked with the 493 individual parks, promoting a consistent message on several key points:

• Under the new law, every park is subject to all the firearms laws of the state (or states) where the park is located.
• Park visitors must know and obey state laws, including knowing which state laws apply in parks (such as Yellowstone) that cross state boundaries. (For information on state laws, go to www.nraila.org/gunlaws.)
• The new law affects firearms possession, not use. Laws regarding hunting, poaching, target shooting or any unlawful discharge remain unchanged.
• It will remain unlawful to carry in certain locations, under a separate law that prohibits possession of any firearm in a "federal facility."
  

As the sergeant used to say on Hill Street Blues, "Y'all be careful out there now."

National reciprocity for right-to-carry vote tomorrow

I love it when the leftwingnuts get their panties all up in a wad. And they're just about to have a lay-down-and-have-a-hissy-fit breakdown. Also known as a conniption fit. The NRA-ILA says the Thune-Vitter Amendment is coming to a vote tomorrow and the brown stuff's in the fan.

The U.S. Senate will vote at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow -- Wednesday, July 22 -- on an amendment to protect your right to self-defense. The anti-gunners are now doing everything that they can to defeat this amendment and the vote by your Senator is likely to determine the outcome. So it is critical for you to call and e-mail your Senator now and urge her to support and vote for the Thune-Vitter Amendment.

The Senate is now considering an amendment by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and David Vitter (R-LA) that will provide interstate recognition of Right-to-Carry licenses and permits. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" -- and other anti-gun leaders and organizations -- are running ads and spreading lies to scare your Senators into opposing this important self-defense reciprocity reform.

The flap has gotten serious enough that even the Washington Post has taken notice. My, my!

Senate Democrats are scrambling to defeat a Republican-backed provision that would allow gun owners to carry their weapons across state lines, overriding the stricter laws of many jurisdictions and giving preference to states with looser standards.

Critics, including police organizations, big-city mayors and gun-victims groups, decried the legislation as creating "a new national lowest common denominator" for ownership of firearms. But twice this year, Republicans have succeeded in rolling back restrictions on guns with substantial backing from moderate Democrats, many newly elected from Western states with strong Second Amendment traditions.

For a minority party with little influence on Capitol Hill, the gun votes represent a rare opportunity to divide a filibuster-proof Senate Democratic majority. In May, the GOP lured 27 Senate Democrats to support looser rules on firearms in national parks; the measure passed the House and was signed by President Obama as part of an unrelated credit-card bill.

In February, 22 Senate Democrats joined Republicans to stall the District's quest for House voting rights by demanding that the legislation also ease D.C. gun restrictions.

The latest measure, offered by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), has far greater reach. Offered Monday as an amendment to the defense authorization bill, it would allow people to carry concealed firearms across state lines, provided they "have a valid permit or if, under their state of residence . . . are entitled to do so."

And there's good reason for the Democrats to smell defeat on this issue. Even Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry "The War Is Lost!" Reid, supposedly leader of the fight against this dastardly plot by the Republicans, is (gasp!) expected to vote for the Thune-Vitter amendment.

... Reid voted for both pro-gun measures earlier this year and is viewed as a likely "yes" on Thune's amendment, although he has not declared a position. A vote on the amendment could come Wednesday, said Jim Manley, Reid's spokesman.

Thune described his amendment as a crime-prevention tool. "Since criminals are unable to tell who is and who is not carrying a firearm just by looking at a potential victim, they are less likely to commit crimes when they fear that they may come in direct contact with an individual who is armed," he said in the statement.

What a concept! Armed, lawful citizens causing armed criminals to think twice about crime. What will they think of next? How about taking the 2nd Amendment seriously, at long last.

I wholeheartedly agree with the NRA-ILA, if you haven't contacted your Senator, do it now!

Please be sure to contact both of your U.S. Senators today, and urge them to cosponsor and support the Thune-Vitter interstate right to carry reciprocity amendment. E-mail and call them immediately!

To find contact information for your U.S. Senators, please click here, or call (202) 224-3121.

N.C. Right-to-Carry gets boost from Legislature and Governor

More good news on the self-defense front. North Carolina now has a new law in effect which stops slow-moving local sheriff's departments from depriving concealed-carry permit holders of rights.

Until this new law, if you applied for renewal of your carry permit and it expired before the local sheriff's office got its paperwork done, sorry Jack, you gotta go through the whole process again, take the state-law class, reapply as if you haven't already been a lawful carry citizen. No more.

The NRA-ILA reports the good news.

On Friday, July 17, Governor Bev Perdue (D) signed the Right-to-Carry permit renewal improvement bill into law (House Bill 1132).

HB 1132 will now ensure that if a Right-to-Carry permit holder applies to his or her sheriff for renewal of a permit within 90 days of the permit's expiration, and the renewal application is not approved or denied by the expiration date, the permit will remain valid until the renewal decision is final. HB 1132 will also require sheriffs to notify permittees when their permits are about to expire. Finally, should a permittee fail to apply to renew a permit before the expiration date, the permittee may apply within 60 days following the expiration of the permit, and ask the sheriff to waive the requirement of taking another firearm safety training course.

My permit doesn't expire for two more years, but I'm glad I won't have to worry about it running out. Bravo, state legislators and Gov. Perdue!