The Shot-and-a-Beer Crowd

Virginia lawmakers want to have guns everywhere.

ALTHOUGH they paid lip service to honoring the victims of last spring's massacre at Virginia Tech, state lawmakers in Richmond have been busy dishonoring their memory. The General Assembly, long in thrall to the gun lobby, has forged ahead with bills to make it easier to carry concealed weapons in cars, bars and restaurants. Never mind that police and relatives of the Virginia Tech victims oppose such legislation. In its wisdom, the legislature has decided that citizens will benefit from a proliferation of hidden weapons -- here, there and everywhere.

A pair of such bills has cleared both houses of the legislature. One would allow motorists to stash their guns in glove compartments even if they do not have permits allowing them to carry concealed weapons. That makes police officers particularly nervous; stopping a car can be dangerous enough without assuming there are unseen guns on board.

Another bill would scrap the state's ban on carrying concealed weapons in bars and in restaurants that serve liquor. The measure would make it a misdemeanor for the carrier of a hidden gun to drink while in a restaurant or bar, but in the real world, who would know? Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta), the bill's sponsor, argued that holders of concealed-carry permits have been screened and therefore can be trusted. But last we checked, the screening does not verify that they are all nonconfrontational when drinking, and it's chilling to think of what may happen if Mr. Hanger's confidence is misplaced. If nothing else, his bill will stamp Virginia indelibly as a state where hidden heat-packing while bar-hopping is fine and dandy. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) should veto the legislation.