Tuesday, February 15, 2005
I'm reprinting this entire article from today's paper because I want YOUR jaw to scrape the floor too and join mine:
'Guns in bars' bill back for 2nd shot
Added twist: No drinking while packing heat
Robbie Sherwood
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
Pistols, rifles, shotguns - Arizonans soon could load them up and tote them into the bar or nightclub of their choice.
In a latest tribute to the Wild West, Arizona legislators have come up with a plan to legalize loaded weapons in places that serve alcohol.
Senate Bill 1363 breezed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-2 vote Monday and appears headed toward a promising future in the full Senate and House. advertisement
To help ease its passage, lawmakers have added a twist: Arizonans would have to avoid actually drinking an alcoholic beverage while carrying the loaded weapon.
The measure would apply to restaurants, bars and nightclubs that served alcohol.
After falling one vote short of passage last year, the so-called guns-in-bars bill is back for another shot. And this year, with key opponents having been replaced by more conservative-leaning lawmakers, backers are feeling optimistic.
The reasoning behind the measure? Darren LaSorte, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, said law-abiding gun owners should be able to dine in restaurants without leaving their weapons at home or in the car, where they are useless for protection.
And he stressed that establishments that don't want guns inside could still prohibit them by posting a sign at the front entrance. Rifles and shotguns could be prohibited by allowing only concealed weapons with permits, he said.
"This does not force a property owner to do anything," LaSorte said. "If they don't want guns on their property, they simply post a sign."
Opponents, including police and all major restaurant and hospitality associations, say a sign should be required if guns are welcome in a business, not the other way around.
Don Isaacson, a lobbyist for the Fraternal Order of Police and the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, said this year's version is an improvement.
But he said he doesn't know of any of the more than 1,500 bar and restaurant owners he represents who wants any part of the liability and potential danger of dealing with armed customers.
"How many bar fights, how many pool-cue fights that occur in and around liquor establishments would have been worse if there were guns present?" Isaacson said.
"There are probably places where it might be appropriate to bring a gun: a VFW in Sun City where it's 30 guys and they've all known each other for years. But a college bar in downtown Tempe on Fiesta Bowl eve, with all those high emotions, that's probably not a good thing."
Gary Cristensen, a competitive shooter and concealed-weapons permit holder from Tempe, said few of the concealed-weapons carriers he knows drink when armed, anyway.
Brian Roehrich, who owns Dos Gringos and four other bars and restaurants in Scottsdale and Tempe, opposes the bill even though he said his clientele is relatively mild-mannered.
"It would be idiotic. There's just no benefit to having a firearm in a place where liquor's being served," Roehrich said.
"And it would be tougher to hire a door guy. They are already in a position where they are trying to control the crowd, and if there is a fight it's going that much scarier not knowing if there's a gun."
Sen. John Huppenthal, who heads the Judiciary Committee and supports the bill, said guns make him uncomfortable and he has never owned one. But he pointed to a University of Chicago study that he said showed rape and murder rates went down in states that passed concealed-carry gun laws.
Restaurants and bars will be safer after the bill passes because criminals, who ignore laws barring guns, won't take the chance with customers who might also be armed, he said.
"People are alive today, wives and mothers are safe today, who otherwise would not have been," Huppenthal said.
------
I wasn't going to say anything about the above. But I have to say something:
Has NO ONE in the Arizona State Legislature who's in favor of this bill ever heard of a BIKER BAR?
This goes over and I guarantee you: One murder a night. At the LEAST.
------
Why does "impregnable" mean nothing can get in, but "impregnate" means something got in?
------
Speaking purely as a male who appreciates the female form in all its various shapes, last weekend's show at the Alwun House's Exotic/Erotic opening party did not disappoint, in spite of all the rain.
------
As I was informed by her after a post last week, TODAY is Nancy Freeman's #*TH Birthday, and I wish her a happy one.
------
I am playing the Alwun House this Friday night, rain or shine, for their 3rd annual Erotic/Exotic poetry/music Festivus. Do show up! See more about it at www.alwunhouse.org
TT
'Guns in bars' bill back for 2nd shot
Added twist: No drinking while packing heat
Robbie Sherwood
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
Pistols, rifles, shotguns - Arizonans soon could load them up and tote them into the bar or nightclub of their choice.
In a latest tribute to the Wild West, Arizona legislators have come up with a plan to legalize loaded weapons in places that serve alcohol.
Senate Bill 1363 breezed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-2 vote Monday and appears headed toward a promising future in the full Senate and House. advertisement
To help ease its passage, lawmakers have added a twist: Arizonans would have to avoid actually drinking an alcoholic beverage while carrying the loaded weapon.
The measure would apply to restaurants, bars and nightclubs that served alcohol.
After falling one vote short of passage last year, the so-called guns-in-bars bill is back for another shot. And this year, with key opponents having been replaced by more conservative-leaning lawmakers, backers are feeling optimistic.
The reasoning behind the measure? Darren LaSorte, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, said law-abiding gun owners should be able to dine in restaurants without leaving their weapons at home or in the car, where they are useless for protection.
And he stressed that establishments that don't want guns inside could still prohibit them by posting a sign at the front entrance. Rifles and shotguns could be prohibited by allowing only concealed weapons with permits, he said.
"This does not force a property owner to do anything," LaSorte said. "If they don't want guns on their property, they simply post a sign."
Opponents, including police and all major restaurant and hospitality associations, say a sign should be required if guns are welcome in a business, not the other way around.
Don Isaacson, a lobbyist for the Fraternal Order of Police and the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, said this year's version is an improvement.
But he said he doesn't know of any of the more than 1,500 bar and restaurant owners he represents who wants any part of the liability and potential danger of dealing with armed customers.
"How many bar fights, how many pool-cue fights that occur in and around liquor establishments would have been worse if there were guns present?" Isaacson said.
"There are probably places where it might be appropriate to bring a gun: a VFW in Sun City where it's 30 guys and they've all known each other for years. But a college bar in downtown Tempe on Fiesta Bowl eve, with all those high emotions, that's probably not a good thing."
Gary Cristensen, a competitive shooter and concealed-weapons permit holder from Tempe, said few of the concealed-weapons carriers he knows drink when armed, anyway.
Brian Roehrich, who owns Dos Gringos and four other bars and restaurants in Scottsdale and Tempe, opposes the bill even though he said his clientele is relatively mild-mannered.
"It would be idiotic. There's just no benefit to having a firearm in a place where liquor's being served," Roehrich said.
"And it would be tougher to hire a door guy. They are already in a position where they are trying to control the crowd, and if there is a fight it's going that much scarier not knowing if there's a gun."
Sen. John Huppenthal, who heads the Judiciary Committee and supports the bill, said guns make him uncomfortable and he has never owned one. But he pointed to a University of Chicago study that he said showed rape and murder rates went down in states that passed concealed-carry gun laws.
Restaurants and bars will be safer after the bill passes because criminals, who ignore laws barring guns, won't take the chance with customers who might also be armed, he said.
"People are alive today, wives and mothers are safe today, who otherwise would not have been," Huppenthal said.
------
I wasn't going to say anything about the above. But I have to say something:
Has NO ONE in the Arizona State Legislature who's in favor of this bill ever heard of a BIKER BAR?
This goes over and I guarantee you: One murder a night. At the LEAST.
------
Why does "impregnable" mean nothing can get in, but "impregnate" means something got in?
------
Speaking purely as a male who appreciates the female form in all its various shapes, last weekend's show at the Alwun House's Exotic/Erotic opening party did not disappoint, in spite of all the rain.
------
As I was informed by her after a post last week, TODAY is Nancy Freeman's #*TH Birthday, and I wish her a happy one.
------
I am playing the Alwun House this Friday night, rain or shine, for their 3rd annual Erotic/Exotic poetry/music Festivus. Do show up! See more about it at www.alwunhouse.org
TT
Comments:
Here in Virginia we don't need a bar bill because the state allows "open carry." You can tote your firearm into restaurants and bars as long as it is holstered on your person in plain sight. Believe it or not, we don't have a gin-guzzlin' frenzy murder every night. There are only a few exceptions to open carry such as children's schools, churches and courthouses. I actually feel much safer living here than I ever did living in Tempe. - Debora K.
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