(GunReports.com) — The number of gun crimes at Virginia bars and restaurants declined slightly during the first year of a new state law that allows people with permits to carry concealed firearms into establishments that serve alcohol, a Richmond newspaper reported.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch ( http://bit.ly/qq6Keh), 145 such incidents were reported in fiscal 2010-11, compared to 153 the previous year _ a 5.2 percent decrease.
Virginia State Police compiled the statistics at the newspaper’s request.
“The numbers basically just confirm what we’ve said would happen if the General Assembly changed the law,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League, which strongly lobbied for the law’s change that made Virginia one of 43 states to allow concealed guns in restaurants that serve alcohol. “It’s sort of a big yawn. So from my point of view, none of this is surprising.”
Click here to read the whole story at TimesDispatch.com.
