This is a good thing...although most of the article talks about how much of a "Danger" it will be.....One restaurant owner says he is so afraid of people that he only hands out steak knives that don't have "pointy ends."

For crying out loud.....a bunch of f'in scardey cats in AZ....guns are bad...knives are bad....we're all going to be killed randomly by someone...

Well, isn't that the exact reason why you should have a gun? To protect yourself from one of the "pointy end" steak knives....



Guns allowed in Arizona bars starting Wednesday
By AMANDA LEE MYERS (AP) – 15 hours ago

PHOENIX — Bartender Randy Shields was serving British brews and Arizona ambers as usual at Shady's bar in east Phoenix when he saw a customer walk in with a hunting knife strapped to his hip.

A disturbing image flashed through his mind — "that knife sliding between my ribs."

(what?)....what a wimp....

The customer willingly turned over the knife while he was in the bar, but Shields still worries about a new Arizona law that goes into effect Wednesday that will allow guns into Arizona bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.

Under the law, backed by the National Rifle Association, the 138,350 people with concealed-weapons permits in Arizona will be allowed to bring their guns into bars and restaurants that haven't posted signs banning them.

Those carrying the weapons aren't allowed to drink alcohol.

The new law has Shields and other bar owners and workers wondering: What's going to happen when guns are allowed in an atmosphere filled with booze and people with impaired judgment?

"Somebody can pull the trigger, then a bullet comes out, and people get hurt and killed," said Brad Henrich, owner of Shady's, a popular neighborhood bar that sees occasional minor scuffles. "The idea of anyone coming in with guns in a place that serves alcohol just seems ludicrous."

An 8 1/2-by-11-inch sign that says "No Firearms Allowed" and shows a red slash over a gun now hangs next to Henrich's liquor license. If a bar owner does not post such a state-approved sign, people with concealed weapons are allowed in with their guns.

There is no way to track how many of Arizona's 5,800 bars and restaurants that serve alcohol have posted such signs. The Arizona Department of Liquor Licensing and Control has signs available for download on its Web site and doesn't track that figure.

The department has provided 1,300 signs to bar and restaurant owners who went to the department in person or asked to have signs mailed to them.

A similar law took effect in July in Tennessee, with the same reaction from many bar owners who posted signs banning firearms. The NRA says 41 states now allow guns in businesses that serve alcohol.

"I hate to have to put them up," Mark DeSimone, owner of the Hidden House Cocktail Lounge in central Phoenix, said of the signs. "It looks scary. It looks to somebody like, should I go in this place because they obviously have a problem with people bringing weapons in."

DeSimone has signs banning guns next to his liquor license and outside the bar.

He said every bar owner should be concerned about the possible consequences of allowing anyone into a bar with a gun.

"You don't want people to even have a stick," he said. "When I take steak knives out (for customers), I look for the ones that don't have pointy ends."

Taking a gun into a bar banning the weapons would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.

But the law includes a partial legal defense. A person would be exempt if the sign banning guns had fallen down, the person wasn't an Arizona resident, or the notice was first posted less than a month earlier.

J.P. Nelson, director of the NRA's western region, said people with concealed-weapons permits have the right to protect themselves by bringing guns into bars and restaurants.

"Bad things happen in bars and restaurants," Nelson said. "People want to carry a gun and if the facility owner doesn't have a problem with it, there shouldn't be a problem. If a person starts drinking and gets in a shootout and kills someone, of course they're subject to criminal prosecution."

(this next guy is the only one with common sense)

Marc Peagler, owner of the Silver Spur Saloon Restaurant in Cave Creek outside Phoenix, said he will allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry in his business, and Silver Spur will be safer because of it.

"It's a deterrent," he said. "In the criminal element, there is some logic that says when people look at a place that they might want to rob, the ones that have big signs up that say 'We do not permit firearms' would be the first target.

"They know there's not going to be anybody in there that can stop them," he said.

Arizonans are also allowed to openly carry guns — on a belt or holster, for example. Those people still won't be allowed in bars or restaurants serving alcohol under the new law if they're armed.

 

Allowing a legal CCW permit holder to conceal carry inside a restaurant that serves alcohol, but does not allow them to lawfully consume alcohol, makes the most sense to me. I am glad that it doesn't allow open carry, because that offers too many opportunities for somebody else to recognize you have the weapon and attempt to take it from you. At the same time, I agree that consuming alcohol while carrying is a bad idea as not everybody uses the best judgement when drinking. So I think they actually got this one right.

Having to mess with your CCW gun and tuck it in a glove box just to go inside an Outback Steakhouse for a quick meal is ridiculous and causes more opportunities for accidents and/or theft.

 

I wish people would wake up and realize that the people that are most likely to get in a "shootout" are the ones that are going to carry a gun inside regardless of the laws and signs posted.

We need to allow guns in NM bars too (so long as the carrier isn't drinking)

 

damn, when are they going to "allow guns" in CA???

 

At least San Diego is now used to the idea of people open carrying.

Open Carry California!: S&W 686+ as a fashion accessory



...On the drive home, Corey called the non emergency police number and spoke to the dispatcher.


Corey: (Aghast) Hi, I was just down in Pacific Beach and there was a couple walking around with guns on their hips!

Dispatch: Yeah, it's actually legal.

C: (Appalled) What do you mean it's legal?

D: Well, there has actually been a lot of them lately. A lot of groups gather and they wear their guns out in the open.

C: How is that possible?

D: They're actually exercising their right to bear arms. They've even been on the news.

C: I've never heard of such a thing.

D: Well, were they doing anything? Were they pointing their guns at each other or making a disturbance?

C: No, they were just strolling along, southbound on Mission Boulevard. They were actually nicely dressed and everything.

D: Yes, well there is nothing illegal about that. We're seeing more and more of that. It's their right to keep and bear arms.

C: It IS? Oh yeah, the second amendment, right?

D: Right. I will let the officers in the area know just so they're aware but again, it's not illegal.

C: OK thank you for the information and thank you for your time. I guess it's pretty cool if you ask me. Have a good night.

D: Thank you for calling SDPD. Good night.

 

A similar law was passed and took effect this year in Tennessee. The antis said that our carry permit holders would get drunk and there would be shootouts at restaurants and bars. Of course that hasn't happened, just like it doesn't happen in all the other states that allow it.

Are you aware of any instances where this has actually occured?

 

The law specifically states that alcohol consumption while carrying is against the law. Furthermore, any establishment has the right to post a weapons ban which must be clearly visible by the liquor license (posting on the front door is NOT enforceable). Failure to adhere to the law may result in fine, jail time, and/or loss of one's CCW permit.
Will be interesting to see who will post and who will support our 2A rights.

 

Just in the movies!

Really, I was just thinking out loud about attracting unwanted attention with open carry vs. conceal carry, especially in the presence of what can often be unpredictable drunk people with bad judgment.

 

Think of it like this.
MOST shootings have occured with
unregistered or illegaly purchased firearms.
It's not a problem because most gun
carriers are laid back nice guys