SAS_VA needs your help.  For the last few years, the VHTA (Virginia Hospitality &  Travel Association – http://www.VHTA.org ) has done everything in its power  to block the passage of a bill that would repeal the ban on concealed carry  in restaurants that serve alcohol on the premises.  So far all efforts to  thwart them have failed.  While the VHTA is not a very large organization,  it has a lot of power as a lobbying organization in the Virginia General  Assembly.

VHTA is a strong organization.  The repeal of the ban on concealed carry in  restaurants will not pass as long as the VHTA continues to support it.  The  only way the ban will be repealed is if the VHTA is forced to rethink its  stance on the ban. You must get involved in order to help.  Below is a link to the VHTA website that has a list of members on  it.  If you live in Virginia, contact the VHTA-affiliated restaurants in  your area and let them know that you will not dine at their establishment(s)  as long as they are members of the VHTA, and specify the reason as the  stance on the restaurant ban law by the VHTA.

The goal of this endeavor is to encourage VHTA members to leave the organization.  Please be polite and courteous in your calls and letters.  Restaurant owners and managers don’t know the VHTA’s position on the concealed-carry issue as the VHTA has not informed their members about it, nor is it stated anywhere on their web site.

Some talking points for your letter include:

* Up until 1995 concealed-carry in a restaurant with a license to serve alcohol was legal. Prior to that point no permit holder had used his firearm inappropriately in a restaurant.

* As a responsible gun owner you recognize that gunpowder and alcohol don’t mix.  The law that the VHTA opposed would have set standards for “carrying under the influence” similar to the current law regarding “driving under the influence”.  Currently no such standard exists in Virginia law.

* Open carry is still legal, and practiced, in Virginia restaurants, though it does occasionally upset the other patrons.

For everyone in state and from other states, on the VHTA website is also lists of hotels, campgrounds, and other tourist centers.  Please contact them and let them know that you will be visiting the region as a tourist, but you will not be staying in their establishments nor will you recommend them to any of your friends who are interested in visiting the state.  Please visit their website for contact information for their members.

VHTA’s web site is at http://www.vhta.org/.  You may want to save the lists  of affiliated restaurants, campgrounds, etc. to your computer’s hard drive  as once the VHTA starts hearing from its members, they will most likely pull  these membership lists off of their web site.