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Accomplished Advocate
So, I'm participating in a "listserv" as a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers' Association, and the subject of carrying firearms while intoxicated came up.
One guy (David A. Mckelvey) said,
To which I responded,
To which another member (Lloyd Snook) observed,
Question for you: what do y'all think of my "legislative proposal"?
(One goal of my proposal is the simplification of 18.2-308.)
One guy (David A. Mckelvey) said,
You have never been allowed to consume alcohol and carry concealed. You have to remain sober while in the bar with a gun.
To which I responded,
Actually, you can't be a concealed handgun permittee and be intoxicated while carrying. § 18.2-308(J1). You can't even drink an alcoholic beverage at a restaurant if you're carrying a concealed handgun, unless you're a law enforcement officer (the "drunken cop" exception), according to paragraph J3. You also can't go hunting with firearms while intoxicated. § 18.2-285. But as long as you're not a concealed carry permittee or hunting at the time, it's perfectly legal to be drunk as a skunk while openly carrying. Of course, you may run afoul of § 18.2-388 ("Profane swearing and intoxication in public..."), but that's just a class four misdemeanor, and has nothing to
do with carrying a dangerous instrument while in a state of impaired judgment.
Legislative change suggestion: eliminate paragraphs J1 and J3 from 18.2-308 and create a new statute simply prohibiting the carrying of a loaded firearm while intoxicated. That simple. I don't care whether the person is in the
privacy of his own home, no one should be hauling around a loaded gun while he's drunk. Period. Exactly the same problem as DUI. I do not see this as offensive to Article I Section 13 of the Va. Const. because the gist of the offense is intoxication/impaired judgment while in possession of an inherently dangerous instrumentality, not the carrying of the firearm per se. (Anyone who wants to be vigilant about self defense ought not be drunk, anyway.) I assume, also, that we all know that the definition of "intoxication" does not rely on a "legal limit" (which really only creates a
presumption of intoxication).
To which another member (Lloyd Snook) observed,
If you introduced a bill like that, you'd get howls from the hunters who hunt with a hip flask. One Virginia legislator in 2006 fell out of his tree stand and broke a number of bones. Why this experienced hunter should have fallen out of the tree stand never got reported, but those in the know know. Kinda reminds me of Bill Fears, who, when he was the State Senator from Accomac, spoke against a bill that would have made it illegal to drive while carrying an open container of alcohol by arguing that "it would take all the fun out of drinking and driving."
Question for you: what do y'all think of my "legislative proposal"?
(One goal of my proposal is the simplification of 18.2-308.)