:D:D:D:D
Let’s hope so, it actually makes more sense than the alternative.
It’s still going to be a tough sell but it was very, very close the last go around and I think we can get it this time. We’ll have to work hard however but I have faith in the VCDL and it’s members.
I told this story before but Bobby Mathieson came to my house before the last elections and we talked about his position on a number of issues. Of course I asked about the 2nd Amendment and he said he did not favor gun owners being allowed to carry in “bars”. I said we can open carry in “restaurants” right now so why not let law-abiding Virginians that have meant the CCP criteria carry concealed. He wasn’t aware that we can open carry in “restaurants” as it stands.
My point, in a round about way, is that regardless of who is in the House and Senate we have a great deal of educating to do.
Maybe I’m mistaken, but it had already made it through the State Legislature last time, Kaine did not sign it. In the same session, he signed into law the ability of Commonwealth attorneys to carry in restaurants AND alchohol consumption was not listed as a prohibited activity while carrying for them.
McDonnell has said he will sign the restaurant carry bill if it come to his desk.
Why can’t you carry in restaurants? What is the reasoning behind that?
Good points.
My legislative memory is not the best, but I believe it passed the legislature the past two years, only to be vetoed both times.
I’ve done the Virginia Tuck plenty of times, open carrying to remain legal, but more options for carry are certainly better.
You expect there to be any logic in government regulations? 
Same old arguments, blood in the streets, etc. Every time this comes up the restaurant “lobby” screams blood int he streets, shootouts in the “bars.” Meanwhile completely ignoring that you can (and currently MUST) OPEN CARRY all day long in the same restaurants and that the laws that have been put through the legislature have all included a restriction on alcohol consumption. Kaine’s entire argument for not signing the law (twice) was that “guns and alcohol don’t mix” while the law specifically prohibited it AND he signs a law that allows court personnel (commonwealth attorneys and even assistants!) to carry concealed AND drink (as mentioned above)
Kaine is a bastard and I hope the door hits his ass on the way out.
Ahhh ok, I thought that was their argument- what a load of crap. What is odd is in NY you can CCW in bars/restaurants. Our state sucks but IF you get a Pistol Permit it is pretty liberal as to where you can carry.
…
Well yeah, if you get it you are probably in the “special class” above the serfs and other peasants so you can pretty much do what you want either way.
Kind of like if an NBA player on the Knicks gets stopped without a permit vs. John Q. Public, the welder, from Vestal getting stopped without a permit.
To add to chrismartin’s explanation, it helps to know some of the background.
VA’s CHP went “shall issue” in 1995, which was an improvement in the law. As a compromise to help the new law pass, the libs got the restaurant ban provision added to the bill.
I remember it well, as I had my CHP pre-1995, before the restaurant ban.
Hopefully the restaurant ban will be history next year.
Believe me I’m not saying NY’s laws are in any way better than VA’s! 
It just pokes holes in their argument that there will be blood in the streets.
Here it strictly depends on the county, it isn’t shall issue but some counties effectively approach it that way. Pay your $125, ger finger printed then wait 1-6 months for your FBI background check and character references to be sent in and then you have a lifetime CCW.
of course we can’t even legally possess a pistol without the pistol permit, go directly to jail do not pass go, do not collect $200.
He’s a man of his word, goes into effect July 1, 2010!!!
Along with these:
House Bill 8/Senate Bill 3, sponsored by State Senator Ralph Smith (R-22) and Delegate Charles Carrico (R-5), allows Virginia residents to renew concealed carry permits by mail.
House Bill 109, sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), repeals the statute which allows the governing body of any county to require the sellers of pistols and revolvers to furnish the Clerk of the Circuit Court with the name and address of the purchaser, date of purchase and the number, make, and caliber of the gun.
House Bill 871, authored by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24), clarifies that a person who is applying for a concealed handgun permit for the first time has the same right to an ore tenus (verbal or oral statements) hearing if the permit is denied as a person who has previously held a concealed handgun permit.
House Bill 1092, sponsored by Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark (R-6), gives retired law-enforcement the ability to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.
House Bill 1191, sponsored by Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8), allows a circuit court judge to authorize the Clerk of Court to issue concealed handgun permits in instances where the application is complete, the background check does not indicate that the applicant is disqualified, and, after consulting with the local sheriff or police department, there are no other questions or issues surrounding the application.
That’s actually pretty typical of “discretionary” permit states - Massachusetts was the same way when I was there. If you could get a permit, you were golden and could carry just about everywhere. I had a MA LTC when I was 18 (shortly before they changed the law to up the age to 21) and would carry in places that served alcohol all the time. Go figure - I could carry a gun into a bar in downtown Boston at 19, but couldn’t legally drink.
As others have pointed out, many of the states that enacted “shall issue” laws did so at the expense of having lots of “no carry zones” tacked on. Texas used to be HORRIBLE about that, with a laundry list of places you couldn’t carry. I think that’s gradually loosened up.
North Carolina is “shall issue” (or just about), but you can’t carry into a bank there. Interestingly, regularly having to go to the bank as part of your business is one of the few things that will guarantee you a LTC in MA and probably NY as well. Go figure.