"One side wears lapel stickers that say 'Even Miss Kitty made you check your gun at the door.'

The other carries cards protruding from their jacket pockets that claim 'Guns save lives.'

They are the combatants in a gun battle being fought at the General Assembly. At issue is whether lawmakers should repeal Virginia's 7-year old prohibition against carrying concealed weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.

The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee will consider Del. R. Lee Ware Jr.'s bill to lift the ban this week. Opponents and supporters of the bill roamed the General Assembly Building last week, lobbying legislators.

Ware, R-Powhatan, says the ban is a burden on law-abiding holders of concealed weapons permits. He has plenty of allies on the committee, which last year sent his bill to the House floor only to see it come up 10 votes short.

Amanda Digirolamo of Richmond opposes the bill. Customers already can walk into restaurants with a holstered pistol in view, which she finds less disconcerting than the idea that someone could be secretly armed.

'I worked in restaurants for seven or eight years,' said Digirolamo, 27, as she waited for a chance to speak to committee members about the measure. 'I would rather have the ability to know someone is carrying a weapon so I could act appropriately. That applies now as a consumer, too. It seems like a no-brainer.'

Ware's bill includes a provision intended to defuse the 'guns and alcohol don't mix' argument. It would make it illegal for anyone carrying a concealed handgun in a public place to drink an alcoholic beverage or be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs." (Associated Press, The Daily Progress, February 4, 2002)