God Bless The Old Dominion

The metal detector just inside the doors of Virginia's General Assembly Building let out a shriek Monday as Stafford resident Bruce Jackson strode through.

That was not at all surprising, since Jackson was wearing a loaded .45-caliber handgun under his blazer. On the other side of the gate, a uniformed Capitol Police officer examined his driver's license, then his concealed handgun permit, had a quick word and waved him along.

And God Bless the Virginia Citizen's Defense Leauge!!

The routine took only a few moments, but for Jackson and other members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, it required one step too many.

. . . .

"You don't have to ask the government for permission to carry a gun," said Philip Van Cleave, president of the league. "Once you start whittling away at the right, when do you stop?"

About 30 members of the league, a 2,400-member gun advocacy group, visited Richmond on Monday to lobby for loosened rules for gun owners. Besides the new restriction, the group also hopes to repeal a ban on carrying concealed weapons in restaurants that serve alcohol. "It's not about drinking," Van Cleave said. "It's about going into a restaurant to eat."

All in all, a pretty fair article in an otherwise overtly hostile paper.