Just as the owner of Top of The Stairs is opposed to concealed carry in restaurants serving alcohol in “Gun bill faces opposition ahead of vote” (CT, Feb. 6), I urge all owners of Blacksburg restaurants that serve alcohol to oppose the legislation.
It’s already a stressful job to work in a restaurant, as my two weeks of being a busboy will attest. As a waiter or waitress, there are hundreds of on the job stresses, both with the customers and the management. There are very few professions outside of the police and military where there is a threat of a gunshot injury on the job; is it worth it to add waiter/waitress to that list?
As there is concern with losing income generated by “out-of-town” patrons by not allowing guns in restaurants that serve alcohol, I have only two questions:
Is the “out-of-town concealed carry” revenue worth the former local and out-of-town patrons who will take their spending money to a restaurant where guns are not allowed?
Is the “out of town concealed carry” revenue worth the inevitable blacklisting (or closing) of a restaurant if a gun is discharged inside?
Of course it’s not fair to label all concealed carry permit holders as trigger happy drinkers, as it’s been shown that they’re more responsible with weapons and highly-trained to use them correctly. On the other hand, the “what-if” scenario is a life and death situation, something to think about in a school with Virginia Tech’s history.
Jacob Eberhart
senior
industrial design