Monday, March 24, 2008

Media sillyness

Here is video from NBC 4 in Washington concerning the VCDL open carrying in restaurants. My past coverage here.

This story is in regards to the VCDL having an open carry campaign in Fairfax county due to state Senator Richard Saslaw saying that those who open carry in a restaurant will be refused service. Saslaw also believes that it is up to lawmakers to save Va from the evil gun blobby and impose legislation that would end this practice. Also note that the VCDL has been doing this for years, and did not just conjure up this idea yesterday.

Right off the bat, anchor Wendi Rieger seems perplexed as to why someone would carry a gun at all. See shows her bias when she hands the story over to reporter Michael Flynn "to explain why" as she rolls her head around in disdain, as if carrying a gun were like carrying a gangrenous, festering leg.

Michael Flynn explains this as a "gunfight between a gun rights group and a state senator" which is a poor way to explain it. Flynn does interview a VCDL member, Dave Vann, and also interviews Saslaw who says that only law enforcement should be able to carry into restaurants, and that if us regular folk show up wearing a "six-shooter" then we would be asked to leave.

The restaurant where Vann and Flynn went for the interview, the Ocean M, allows people to carry in their establishment, with the owner saying that be assumes those who carry are licensed. Note that one does not need to be licensed to open carry in Va, to include in bars and restaurants, only to conceal carry, which is prohibited in places that serve alcohol to be served on premises.

Flynn goes on to mention that Vann "has a license to carry the gun" which, as I explained above, is a moot point as Vann is open carrying. You would think that a reporter would have at least a fundamental understanding of the law if he or she were to cover a story.

Flynn interviewed two individuals who were dining at some restaurant who said that if 60 people show up carrying guns that they would leave. I wonder if they would leave if 12 MS-13 walked in with concealed guns? Oh yeah, right, how would they know? Your days dose of stupid:
"Wouldn't you be bothered if you just saw a gun around, period, in general?"

Yes, a gun walking around unsupervised sends chills down my spine.

The owner of Arties restaurant in Fairfax announced that his establishment is now gun unfriendly. Nothing wrong with that, gun owners will just have to go elsewhere.

Flynn explains that those with concealed handgun permits can open carry in restaurants as long as they don't drink. This is entirely untrue. As explained above, an individual needs no blessing from his or her government to carry openly, in a bar, restaurant, or elsewhere, and can consume alcohol while carrying as long as said person does not become intoxicated. The confusion is that if someone is carrying concealed, then they must un-conceal their firearm to go into a bar or a restaurant.

Va governor Tim Kaine vetoed a bill last month, SB 476, that would have made it legal to conceal carry in a restaurant as long as the gun owner did not consume alcohol and let the restaurant staff know they were carrying. Funny though is that Kaine supports SB 776 which would allow Commonwealth attorneys to carry concealed in a bar and drink alcohol with no license or training! Us mere citizens are too untrustworthy to carry concealed where alcohol is present for fear of us consuming the booze, but it's cool for those with a government paycheck to carry and drink. No double standards there.

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