RICHMOND -- A House of Delegates committee endorsed legislation Monday that would allow concealed handguns in establishments that serve alcohol, but punish gun-carrying patrons who get caught drinking.

Senate Bill 476 would eliminate the state's ban on concealed handguns in restaurants and clubs that serve alcohol, a change long favored by gun-rights advocates. The Senate passed the bill last week, and the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee endorsed it Monday, despite opposition from the restaurant industry and the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County, said that gun owners with concealed-carry permits should not forfeit their privileges when they enter a restaurant that serves alcohol.

"It's a matter of extending this privilege to people who have gone through a screening process themselves that suggests that they can be trusted," Hanger said.

Hanger's bill has revived a long-running debate in the legislature about whether the state should allow concealed handguns in bars and family restaurants that serve alcohol.

"This was a long time coming," said Philip Van Cleave, president of Virginia Citizens Defense League, who asked the House committee to approve the bill.

Van Cleave said the bill would give restaurant owners the option of allowing patrons to have concealed firearms. State law already allows people to carry guns openly in establishments that serve alcohol. It also gives restaurants the discretion to ban all firearms from their property, and that would not change under Hanger's bill.

The House committee approved Hanger's bill on a 16-5 vote, sending it to the full House for a final vote. Supporters included Republicans Morgan Griffith of Salem, Dave Nutter of Christiansburg, Charles Poindexter of Franklin County, Ben Cline of Rockbridge County, Bill Carrico of Grayson County and Democrat Jim Shuler of Blacksburg.

"I have always favored the concept of being able to carry," Griffith said before the committee's vote. "I like the concept of not consuming alcohol on the premises while carrying."

Hanger's bill would require a patron with a concealed-carry permit to notify a restaurant employee that he or she is armed. A gun-carrying patron who consumes alcohol could be charged with a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail. A person who becomes intoxicated while carrying a concealed gun would face a maximum jail sentence of one year.

Tom Lisk, a lobbyist for the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, said lawmakers are courting danger by passing the bill.

"This is about taking your gun in any place that serves alcohol, whether it be a fine dining establishment or whether it be a bar, or a honky-tonk," Lisk said. "We don't believe guns belong in those environments."

Lisk also raised concerns that restaurants could be held liable if gun-carrying patrons consume alcohol in violation of the law, even though the bill only attaches criminal penalties to the gun owner.

Curtis Coleburn, chief operating officer of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, called Hanger's bill "bad public safety policy."

Coleburn said existing law allows law enforcement officers "to see where the guns are" when they respond to an establishment that serves alcohol.

"With concealed carry, you can't judge," Coleburn said.

Gov. Tim Kaine opposes Hanger's bill, spokesman Gordon Hickey said. But when asked if Kaine would veto the measure, Hickey said: "We'll have to wait and see what it looks like when it arrives."