Wolf_shadow
Activist Member
imported post
I received this reply from Senator Northam regarding action item:
I urge you to pre-file two bills for gun owners this year. Both bills give trained concealed handgun permit holders the same carry rights as an untrained and off-duty state lawyer based on a bill (SB 776) that you voted for in the 2008 session:
1. A bill to strike 18.2-308 J3. This will allow a person with a concealed-handgun permit to carry concealed in a restaurant or club that serves alcohol.
2. A bill to allow a concealed handgun permit holder to carry on K-12 school grounds.
A recent Attorney General's Opinion confirmed that Commonwealth Attorneys and their deputies have the rights above based on SB 776 passing.
As a concealed handgun permit holder, I should have the same rights as an off-duty and untrained state lawyer.
Please let me know what you are going to do.
My Reply:
:banghead:
I received this reply from Senator Northam regarding action item:
I urge you to pre-file two bills for gun owners this year. Both bills give trained concealed handgun permit holders the same carry rights as an untrained and off-duty state lawyer based on a bill (SB 776) that you voted for in the 2008 session:
1. A bill to strike 18.2-308 J3. This will allow a person with a concealed-handgun permit to carry concealed in a restaurant or club that serves alcohol.
2. A bill to allow a concealed handgun permit holder to carry on K-12 school grounds.
A recent Attorney General's Opinion confirmed that Commonwealth Attorneys and their deputies have the rights above based on SB 776 passing.
As a concealed handgun permit holder, I should have the same rights as an off-duty and untrained state lawyer.
Please let me know what you are going to do.
Thank you for your note. As an avid outdoorsman, I respect the rights of my fellow gun owners, and believe that additional legislation to restrict those rights is unnecessary. I also agree with you that the recent Attorney General's opinion regarding Commonwealth's Attorneys does not make sense, and I will put some more time into reviewing why the AG arrived at that conclusion. However, I do not believe that the two legislative changes you seek are in the best interest of the citizens of the Commonwealth. With regard to the first request, I feel strongly that guns and alcohol do not mix, and that restaurant owners have the right to know if someone is bringing a firearm into their establishments. I am sure that you and I are responsible individuals and know how to handle a gun, but for every one of us, there's a Plaxico Burress out there with the potential to cause unintentional harm to himself and to others. With regard to your request to allow concealed weapons to be carried on school grounds, I fail to see the benefit to the public. School districts across the Commonweath have added armed School Resource Officers to ensure the safety of our children, and I feel comfortable knowing that officer is the only person carrying a firearm at school. I know it is frustrating to many, but gun owner rights must be balanced against public safety concerns for the benefit of all people, and while that does not mean taking anyone's guns away, it does mean defining when and where it is appropriate to allow concealed carry.
Sincerely,
Ralph S. Northam
Senator, Virginia's 6th Distict
My Reply:
Senator Northam
Basically you are saying you do not trust your law abiding constituents to do the right thing. Personally I agree guns and alcohol don't mix. I have seen off duty police officers that are not required to open carry in a bar or restaurant drinking while armed numerous times.The reason for concealed carry is so the criminals don't know who may be armed and where they might be. As far as yourreference to Plaxico Burress it appearshe was in violation of the law to start with (No permit).Also anyone including a police officer can make a mistake for example the Ohio Police Chief that shot himselfhttp://news.aol.com/article/ohio-police-chief-accidentally-shoots/262799. If a restaurant owner doesn't want concealed carry in his/her establishment than post the property like all other property owners can.
With regard to the School Resource Officers they are not always in the school building, they may need to leaveduring the day for any number of reasons. Also under the law as written,an off duty game warden from New Jersey can carry aloaded gun in the schools but a permitted Virginia parent can't. The current law allows a parent to enter school property as long as they don't leave the car and the gun stays concealed. If the parent needs to enter the school they must leave the property, handle the gun to unload it, lock it up, then return to the school property. When leaving the property they again must handle the gun to reload an holster it. Using your Plaxico Burress example it appears from the reports he was handling the gun to give it to a security person at the club when the accidental discharge happened.Therefore the extra handling of the weapon presents more chance to have a problem with accidental discharge. If your problem is practice most CHP holders I know spend more time at the range than police and Sheriff's Deputies do. Some of the officers I know go to the range once a year when required to qualify.
Please reconsider yourposition on this issue.
:banghead: