VCDL activist Mark Anderson will have the following letter in the
Roanoke Times. This is what we need to keep doing. Good work, Mark!
And thanks to everyone else who has been fighting this war with their
pens and their time!
>From: MARKAND@aol.com
>Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 16:31:15 EST
>Subject: Re: VA-ALERT: Letters needed
>To: philip@virginiasystems.com
>
>Philip,
>
>I sent a letter to the Roanoke Times link in your email (of 2-9-01). A Karen
>Trout called me today and advised me that they were running my submission,
>not as a letter, but as a commentary piece.
>
>The letter I wrote follows:
>
>Repeal the "Restaurant Ban"
>
>When the Virginia legislature revised Virginia's concealed weapons law
>several years ago, they enacted a new provision that prohibits people who
>possess a concealed weapons permit from carrying their guns into
>establishments that serve alcohol for on-premises consumption (basically all
>non-fast food restaurants, hence the term "Restaurant Ban"). For the first
>time in 100 years, Virginia citizens who possess concealed weapons permits
>could not carry them into a restaurant. The unintended consequence of this
>law is to disarm all restaurant patrons, whether they are drinking or not
>(and permit holders don't drink when carrying a firearm for protection).
>Further, all restaurant patrons, whether gun owners or not, are at increased
>risk as every car-jacker, mugger, armed robber, and rapist who happens to be
>roaming the streets of Virginia is well aware of the fact that any person
>seen leaving a restaurant is unarmed.
>
>Could allowing armed citizens to carry concealed weapons into restaurants
>really make any difference?
>
>During the Luby's Cafeteria massacre that took place in Texas several years
>ago, one of the cafeteria's patrons was an avid shooter, firearms instructor,
>and possessor of a Texas concealed weapons permit. When a deranged man
>entered the establishment and opened fire, she reached for her weapon, only
>to realize that it was in the trunk of her car. At the time, Texas had its
>own restaurant ban, and did not allow her to carry her weapon and protect
>herself while in a restaurant. Nearly two dozen people were killed,
>including her mother and father. This woman survived the attack, and became
>a member of the Texas legislature, where she championed the successful
>movement to repeal the Texas restaurant ban. Had she been allowed to carry
>her gun into that restaurant, it is probable that her parents and some or
>many of the other victims would be alive today.
>
>The recent Wakefield shootings also reveal how well intentioned gun
>prohibitions, can magnify a tragedy. The day after Christmas 2000, a madman
>entered an office building in Wakefield, MA and methodically shot and killed
>eight people. One of the Wakefield shooting victims, Louis "Sandy" Javelle,
>possessed a permit to carry a concealed weapon issued by the state of New
>Hampshire. Reciprocity between New Hampshire and Massachusetts would have
>allowed Sandy to carry his gun in Massachusetts. Unfortunately for "Sandy"
>Javelle, the state of Massachusetts (where these killings took place) has
>some of the toughest gun laws in the country. Possession of even pepper
>spray requires a permit. Reciprocity for a New Hampshire resident? No way.
>Massachusetts would not allow Sandy to carry his gun in their fine state.
>Being a law-abiding citizen, Sandy left his gun at home. The killer did not.
> Although unarmed, Sandy told co-workers to close and lock the door behind
>him as he confronted the gunman. He was the third of eight fatalities. Had
>he been allowed to carry his gun, it is likely that he and 5 other people
>would still be alive today. Or perhaps the gunman would have stayed home,
>and found another way to vent his rage and frustration, fearing for his own
>life should he encounter an armed citizen.
>
>The Virginia House of Delegates considered repealing the "restaurant ban" and
>improving reciprocity this session. While the Militia and Police Committee
>approved generally good bills to do so this earlier this month (Feb 3), the
>full House has defeated them. Many thanks to Delegate Lee Ware for his
>excellent effort to repeal the Restaurant Ban, and shame on the full House
>for defeating it.
>
>There is still time for the Senate or Governor to take action this session.
>Please write the Governor and your Senator and urge them to take action to
>repeal the Restaurant Ban before the session ends. I can only hope and pray
>that it does not take an incident like the Luby's Cafeteria massacre to or
>the Wakefield shootings to motivate the Virginia legislature to repeal
>Virginia's senseless Restaurant Ban and improve reciprocity with other
>states. Honest citizens obey the law. Criminal predators do not. Concealed
>weapons permit holders are a blessing, not a threat, to public safety,
>whether on our streets or in our restaurants. Virginia's "Restaurant Ban" is
>a bad idea that's going to get someone killed, if it hasn't already. It's
>time for it to go.
>
>Mark Anderson
>Fairfax, VA 22031
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of all Virginians. The membership considers the right to keep and bear arms an essential human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
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Roanoke Times. This is what we need to keep doing. Good work, Mark!
And thanks to everyone else who has been fighting this war with their
pens and their time!
>From: MARKAND@aol.com
>Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 16:31:15 EST
>Subject: Re: VA-ALERT: Letters needed
>To: philip@virginiasystems.com
>
>Philip,
>
>I sent a letter to the Roanoke Times link in your email (of 2-9-01). A Karen
>Trout called me today and advised me that they were running my submission,
>not as a letter, but as a commentary piece.
>
>The letter I wrote follows:
>
>Repeal the "Restaurant Ban"
>
>When the Virginia legislature revised Virginia's concealed weapons law
>several years ago, they enacted a new provision that prohibits people who
>possess a concealed weapons permit from carrying their guns into
>establishments that serve alcohol for on-premises consumption (basically all
>non-fast food restaurants, hence the term "Restaurant Ban"). For the first
>time in 100 years, Virginia citizens who possess concealed weapons permits
>could not carry them into a restaurant. The unintended consequence of this
>law is to disarm all restaurant patrons, whether they are drinking or not
>(and permit holders don't drink when carrying a firearm for protection).
>Further, all restaurant patrons, whether gun owners or not, are at increased
>risk as every car-jacker, mugger, armed robber, and rapist who happens to be
>roaming the streets of Virginia is well aware of the fact that any person
>seen leaving a restaurant is unarmed.
>
>Could allowing armed citizens to carry concealed weapons into restaurants
>really make any difference?
>
>During the Luby's Cafeteria massacre that took place in Texas several years
>ago, one of the cafeteria's patrons was an avid shooter, firearms instructor,
>and possessor of a Texas concealed weapons permit. When a deranged man
>entered the establishment and opened fire, she reached for her weapon, only
>to realize that it was in the trunk of her car. At the time, Texas had its
>own restaurant ban, and did not allow her to carry her weapon and protect
>herself while in a restaurant. Nearly two dozen people were killed,
>including her mother and father. This woman survived the attack, and became
>a member of the Texas legislature, where she championed the successful
>movement to repeal the Texas restaurant ban. Had she been allowed to carry
>her gun into that restaurant, it is probable that her parents and some or
>many of the other victims would be alive today.
>
>The recent Wakefield shootings also reveal how well intentioned gun
>prohibitions, can magnify a tragedy. The day after Christmas 2000, a madman
>entered an office building in Wakefield, MA and methodically shot and killed
>eight people. One of the Wakefield shooting victims, Louis "Sandy" Javelle,
>possessed a permit to carry a concealed weapon issued by the state of New
>Hampshire. Reciprocity between New Hampshire and Massachusetts would have
>allowed Sandy to carry his gun in Massachusetts. Unfortunately for "Sandy"
>Javelle, the state of Massachusetts (where these killings took place) has
>some of the toughest gun laws in the country. Possession of even pepper
>spray requires a permit. Reciprocity for a New Hampshire resident? No way.
>Massachusetts would not allow Sandy to carry his gun in their fine state.
>Being a law-abiding citizen, Sandy left his gun at home. The killer did not.
> Although unarmed, Sandy told co-workers to close and lock the door behind
>him as he confronted the gunman. He was the third of eight fatalities. Had
>he been allowed to carry his gun, it is likely that he and 5 other people
>would still be alive today. Or perhaps the gunman would have stayed home,
>and found another way to vent his rage and frustration, fearing for his own
>life should he encounter an armed citizen.
>
>The Virginia House of Delegates considered repealing the "restaurant ban" and
>improving reciprocity this session. While the Militia and Police Committee
>approved generally good bills to do so this earlier this month (Feb 3), the
>full House has defeated them. Many thanks to Delegate Lee Ware for his
>excellent effort to repeal the Restaurant Ban, and shame on the full House
>for defeating it.
>
>There is still time for the Senate or Governor to take action this session.
>Please write the Governor and your Senator and urge them to take action to
>repeal the Restaurant Ban before the session ends. I can only hope and pray
>that it does not take an incident like the Luby's Cafeteria massacre to or
>the Wakefield shootings to motivate the Virginia legislature to repeal
>Virginia's senseless Restaurant Ban and improve reciprocity with other
>states. Honest citizens obey the law. Criminal predators do not. Concealed
>weapons permit holders are a blessing, not a threat, to public safety,
>whether on our streets or in our restaurants. Virginia's "Restaurant Ban" is
>a bad idea that's going to get someone killed, if it hasn't already. It's
>time for it to go.
>
>Mark Anderson
>Fairfax, VA 22031
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of all Virginians. The membership considers the right to keep and bear arms an essential human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
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