Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Kaine vetoes 2 gun-rights measures
The first was on guns in restaurants; the second on keeping firearms in vehicle compartments.
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roanoke.com/politics
RICHMOND -- Gov. Tim Kaine on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would allow concealed handguns in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, saying the proposal would put patrons, employees and law enforcement officers at risk.
The governor also vetoed a measure that would allow gun owners without concealed-carry permits to store firearms in locked vehicle compartments, despite the fact that the measure had broad support in both chambers of the General Assembly.
Kaine's vetoes represent the latest clash between the governor and the legislature this year over gun rights. Earlier in the session, lawmakers in both chambers defeated Kaine's efforts to require criminal background checks for all firearms sold at gun shows. Kaine's vetoes drew criticism from Republicans, with some accusing the governor of being hostile to gun owners.
Kaine said he vetoed the bills based largely on concerns raised by public safety officials. He said objections from the restaurant industry also factored into his decision to veto the bill allowing guns in places that serve alcohol.
"Both of these vetoes were basically public safety issues, where the public safety community was not in favor of changing the laws," Kaine said. "I really take advice from the public safety community very seriously on matters like this."
Senate Bill 476 would eliminate the state's ban on concealed handguns in restaurants and clubs that serve alcohol, a step long favored by gun-rights advocates.
Both chambers passed the legislation, but the Senate passed the bill without the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County, said he was disappointed by the veto but conceded it is likely to be sustained in the Senate.
Hanger said he met with Kaine on Monday to discuss the governor's objections to the bill, and had hoped Kaine would amend the bill rather than veto it. Hanger said Kaine was "clear and cordial" in their meeting and left little doubt where he stood on the issue.
But, Hanger said, "I felt that the bill as it arrived at the governor's desk was a very reasonable piece of legislation."
Hanger's bill would allow a gun owner with a concealed-carry permit to have a concealed firearm in an establishment that serves alcohol. The gun owner would have to notify a restaurant employee that he or she is armed, and would face criminal charges if he or she consumed alcohol.
Virginia's restaurant industry opposed the bill, as did the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
"I just don't think more mixing of guns and alcohol are a good thing, and the public safety community feels that strongly," Kaine said.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said Kaine overstated the objections of public safety officials. Van Cleave, a supporter of the bill, noted that a lone ABC official testified against the bill in a House committee hearing and no other law enforcement agencies spoke out at the meeting.
"He's playing games with people, and that's not right," Van Cleave said.
Kaine also vetoed Senate Bill 436, which would allow people without concealed-carry permits to store guns in locked vehicle compartments. Kaine vetoed a similar bill two years ago.
"My mind hasn't changed on that, and the public safety opposition hasn't changed," said Kaine, citing objections to the bill by law enforcement agencies.
Kaine will have to change some minds on the bill to have his veto sustained. The bill passed both houses with sufficient majorities to override a veto, even getting 31 votes in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier County, said Kaine took a "heavy-handed approach" to a bill that had widespread legislative support.
"I consider it a sad day for the citizens of Virginia when the governor will side with a small but powerful lobby over the objection of gun owners in Virginia as well as a stunning majority of members of the House and Senate," Vogel said in a news release.
