AZ moves to allow concealed guns in bars

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
AZ moves to allow concealed guns in bars
57
Sun, 06-28-2009 - 2:12pm

Arizona moves to allow concealed guns in bars


By AMANDA LEE MYERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER


PHOENIX -- There was a time in the Wild West that cowboys had to check their guns before they could pull up a bar stool for a drink - rules that protected against the saloon gunfights that came to define the frontier era in places like Arizona.


But a bill moving through the Arizona Legislature has some bar owners fearful that the state is turning back the clock to the Old West. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow anyone with a concealed-weapons permit to bring a handgun into bars and restaurants serving alcohol.


The bill gives bars discretion to keep gun-toting patrons out, and anyone with a weapon would not be allowed to drink. But the bill has angered bar owners who believe booze and guns are a recipe for disaster.  (me:  At least the bar owners will have the discretion to still ban guns in their premises...but 'anyone with a weapon should not be allowed to drink'?  How in the h*ll are they going to enforce that?  Have the waiter/waitress/bartender pat down &/or search the purses/bags of the patrons who order drinks?)


"This might be one of the stupidest things that I have heard of," said Mike Nelson, who owns Pomeroy's bar in Phoenix and plans to post a sign on his front door outlawing guns in his bar as soon as possible. "Can you think of a single reason guns and alcohol should be intertwined?" (me:  Not a single one!  I hope more bar/restaurant owners outlaw guns in their establishments.  It looks like the only way common sense will prevail.)


The bill is part of a nationwide push by the National Rifle Association. Georgia passed a similar law in 2008, as did Tennessee earlier this year in becoming the 40th state to allow bar or restaurant patrons to carry guns. (me:  Ah yes...the good ole boys of the NRA...it figures.)



The law would only apply to people with concealed-weapons permits because lawmakers say that type of gun owner has to pass a background check and take an eight-hour course to get their permits, and are therefore safer. More than 127,000 Arizonans have concealed-weapons permits, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. (me:  Of course!!!  CWP's NEVER lose their temper; NEVER develop drinking/drug problems; etc.  I will say that I feel anyone owning a gun should be required the same courses.)


Arizonans are also allowed to openly carry guns - on a belt or holster, for example. But those people would still not be allowed in bars or restaurants serving alcohol if they're armed.


The bill has been approved by the Senate and is now before the House; Republican Gov. Jan Brewer would still have to OK it.



Peagler, a gun owner himself, said people with concealed-weapons permits aren't people to be concerned about.  (me:  Again...see above.  While they may be LESS likely, there is absolutely NO insurance that they won't snap, etc.  That is the stupidest comment I've heard in awhile.)


"People who carry concealed weapons for the most part are your general law-abiding citizens, and the people who are going to break the law are going to do it no matter what laws we have out there," he said. "If somebody has been drinking and they have a weapon in the car, they're just going to go out and get it." (me:  I agree that if someone is bent on breaking the law, they will.  However, if they have to go somewhere else to get that gun, maybe...just maybe...they might cool down enough to stop & think about it.  Especially if they are one of those 'perfect CWP owners'.)


Frank Murray, owner of Seamus McCaffrey's Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Phoenix, said he opposes the law and will prohibit his customers from coming in armed.


"It's kind of like the Wild West days," he said. "We've got enough nuts out on the street walking around with guns. We don't need them in places with alcohol and families."



In May, the House overwhelmingly approved a bill that would permit gun owners to keep a weapon out of sight in a locked vehicle in a parking lot or garage. That would override employers that ban weapons on their property. (me:  So now employers can't even control this?  Seems like an infringement on their rights!)


Last week, a Senate committee approved a bill that would allow Arizonans to carry concealed weapons without state permits, despite objections from law enforcement.  (me:  Well, cross Arizona off my list of places to see.)


Entire article at:  http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_us_guns_in_bars.html


 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-05-2009
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 9:59am

Would you not visit AZ because you disagree with their laws regarding guns, or because you're afraid you might get shot?


Just curious.


zz

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-25-2008
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 3:47pm
That's a little bizarre even for AZ, but it's not something that would keep me from visiting the state as I'm not a bar person anyway.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 4:03pm

All I could think of when I read this was, about



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 10:36pm

Let's put it this way, I wouldn't go into a bar that allowed weapons (concealed or not) & served alcohol to the carriers.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 10:48pm

I'm not a bar person either - I rarely drink, but DH likes to check out local microbrews when we travel, so it wouldn't be that farfetched to think we might find ourselves in a bar if we were to travel to AZ.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 11:00pm

I know...I used to bartend!


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-05-2009
Mon, 06-29-2009 - 11:05pm

You must be running out of states to visit!


Georgia passed a similar law in 2008, as did Tennessee earlier this year in becoming the 40th state to allow bar or restaurant patrons to carry guns.


Honestly, it sounds like the same kind of paranoia that you have stated about gun owners.


zz

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2009
Tue, 06-30-2009 - 10:13am

<

Georgia passed a similar law in 2008, as did Tennessee earlier this year in becoming the 40th state to allow bar or restaurant patrons to carry guns.

Honestly, it sounds like the same kind of paranoia that you have stated about gun owners.>>

As a resident of AZ, I find it very funny that some people think that just because the law was passed that all of a sudden people are going to start firing away and shooting everyone in the bars. A while back some folks (I can't remember who) were complaining because a law passed allowing people to bring guns in the National Parks. These people said they were going to stay out of the parks too because of this new law.

I guess these paranoid people should just stay off the streets all together...because many, many people carry concealed weapons in many, many states.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Tue, 06-30-2009 - 10:26am

Evidently I must lead a very sheltered life, because I had no idea there were states that permitted patrons to carry guns into a designated location that served alcohol. The combination of "heat" n "hops" just makes me cringe to be honest, and I frequent taverns and bars on a semi-regular basis. Thank god my state does not, nor ever will, permit the mixing of handguns and liquor.


I have seen many, many brawls in bars over the years, usually, if not always, alcohol related in some form or fashion. It can be over a pool game, darts, what someone is playing on the jukebox, or someone doing something as outrageous as offering to buy someone a drink. To think that if this happens in a place where folks are allowed to pack, a shove or even a punch can be substituted for a bullet that ruins 2 lives in the blink of an eye.


What an insane idea this is. Count me as one who would never enter an establishment that permitted this type of thing to occur.


mwm

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 06-30-2009 - 10:40am

"I guess these paranoid people should just stay off the streets all together...because many, many people carry concealed weapons in many, many states.'


Surely those carrying guns are the paranoid


I agree with Midwesternman...


"The combination of "heat" n "hops" just makes me cringe to be honest"


The two could be a dangerous combination. We know how 'rational' drunks can be.


 


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