Virginia Government News Notebook: Friday, Feb. 12
- Guns in bars bill passes House
- ACLU intercedes in First Amendment case at Virginia Tech
- Green Public Buildings Act passes Senate committee
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Guns in bars bill passes House: Legislation introduced by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, reversing the current ban on concealed weapons permit holders carrying a concealed handgun into restaurants and clubs that serve alcohol passed the Virginia House of Delegates today by a vote of 67-27.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where it passed last year before being vetoed by former Gov. Timothy Kaine. This year, the bill is expected to again pass the Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has indicated that he will support the measure.
The bill still bans permit holders who choose to carry concealed weapons from drinking alcohol while in the establishment.
“Under current law, we trust hundreds of thousands of law-abiding gun owners to carry a concealed handgun for their protection and that of their families. We should not trust them any less simply because they want to take their family out to dinner,” Gilbert said.
The bill is designed to allow law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families from violent predators on the way to and from restaurants. The intent of the bill is to create uniformity in the state code between people who “open carry” and “concealed carry permit holders.”
Virginia law currently allows people to openly carry handguns in restaurants, but it does not allow “concealed carry” permit holders to do so.
ACLU intercedes in First Amendment case at Virginia Tech: The ACLU of Virginia today informed the Virginia Tech Commission on Student Affairs that it will violate the First Amendment right to freedom of the press if it removes support from the university’s student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, because it allows online contributors to post anonymous comments that are sometimes offensive.
According to news sources, the Commission on Student Affairs notified The Collegiate Times earlier this week that it would remove $70,000 in university funding from the newspaper, require them to move out of free office space provided by the university, and disrupt advertising revenues if the newspaper continues to allow the anonymous postings.
“There is a long cultural and legal tradition of opinionated, anonymous speech in the United States and sometimes it is not pleasant to hear or read,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “But we have learned that censorship is far more dangerous to our freedom than offensive speech.”
“Virginia Tech can teach the virtues of civil discourse and it can implore students to engage in it,” added Willis. “But it cannot censor a newspaper for allowing students to express their opinions, even when they are rude or vulgar.”
Green Public Buildings Act passes Senate committee: Fairfax Democratic State Sen. Chap Petersen’s Green Public Buildings Act, Senate Bill 109, was unanimously passed by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.
The Green Public Buildings Act requires all new construction of state buildings greater than 5,000 gross square feet in size to adhere to LEED or Green Globes standards. This also applies to new renovations of state buildings where the cost of reconstruction exceeds 50 percent of the building’s value.
According to Petersen, the purpose of the bill is to significantly reduce utility usage, preserve the environment and save taxpayer dollars.
The full Senate will vote on SB 109, which is endorsed by conservation groups such as Virginia Interfaith Power & Light and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, within the next week.
