"A Virginia Senate committee killed a bill yesterday that would have allowed gun owners to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants.

Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta), chairman of the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, said members were split 7 to 7 on the measure and on a compromise proposal, so he tabled the bill without debate or a vote.

'There were seven votes all over the place to do a number of things, but there weren't eight votes anywhere to do anything,' said Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax), a committee member who backed a compromise that would have prohibited gun owners from drinking while armed.

Backers of the bill said having to leave behind firearms when going to dinner violates Second Amendment rights and is impractical.

'To take it off and put it back on again is a major hassle,' said Phil Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. 'Eating is something that everybody does three or four times a day -- it's a major thing.'

Other supporters noted that gun owners are allowed to carry unconcealed weapons now and that concealing them would put everybody at ease, especially if there was an incident.

'It's dangerous to carry it in the open because the bad guys think I'm a police officer and the good guys expect me to do something,' said Mike McHugh, president of the Virginia Gun Owners Coalition, who was carrying a .357 magnum in the back of his pants.

Del. R. Lee Ware Jr. (R-Powhatan), sponsor of the bill, said he will bring it back next year.

Opponents cheered the bill's defeat. 'To allow people to carry guns into bars and possibly drink is a dumb idea,' said Jim Sollo of Virginians Against Handgun Violence." (Steven Ginsberg, Washington Post, February 22, 2003)