Joseph D. Schwenz Sr., commentator over at Tennessee’s theleafchronicle.com, sounds off on the state’s pending “guns in bars” legislation:
Ever since the expansion of right to carry into restaurants came up, the media have consistently headlined every news story with the title, “Guns in Bars Bill.” We’ve been reading about “Guns in Bars” even when it wasn’t about guns in “bars”!
The measure that was passed last year, and briefly became law, differentiated between bars and restaurants and allowed handgun carry permit holders to carry only into restaurants, not into “bars.”
Opponents to the new law, led by restaurant owner Randy Rayburn, thought they had a cleaver way of defeating it. They claimed that the law was too “ambiguous” and didn’t clearly define the difference between a restaurant and a bar. They found a judge, who agreed, and the law was stricken down.
Now this year, we get the same old sensationalism with the headlines, “Guns in Bars.” The only thing is, this time it’s true!
In order to clear up the “ambiguous” nature of the law, the legislators simply wrote the law allowing legal HCP holders the right to carry anywhere alcohol is served. The governor has vetoed this bill, but it is surely to be overridden and will soon become law. So now, we won’t have to worry about differentiating between a “bar” and a restaurant. Thank you, Mr. Rayburn!
For those of you opposed to this legislation because of your uniformed knowledge, (fear), of gun issues; if you don’t feel safe being in a restaurant/bar that allows law abiding HCP holders [ED: nothing to do with hardcore porn] to enter there, then I suggest you look for one that has that picture on the door of a handgun with the red circle and slash over it, and go in there.
Then you can feel “safe,” knowing that if anyone has a gun in there, it’s only a criminal and not a lawabiding citizen!
