EDITORIAL: A gun in a restaurant; a duck blown away

By: | Inside NoVA
Published: June 20, 2009

The recent shooting of a mother duck by an armed and intoxicated patron at Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse on Potomac River raises more questions
than just those related to animal cruelty. It makes one wonder why people should be allowed guns in restaurants, period.

First, some background.

David Yount, 33, walked into the restaurant on June 10, probably drunk, carrying a .40-caliber handgun. When bartenders wouldn’t serve him, he walked outside to
the beach area, pulled his gun and fired four to seven shots at a group of ducks, blowing away a mother duck.

He ran off but was arrested when he wrecked his car not far from the restaurant.

Because domestic ducks can be hunted, he wasn’t charged for that. And because Virginians are legally allowed to carry unconcealed guns into restaurants, there
was no penalty for that either.

That is ridiculous. There is absolutely no need for a person to carry a gun into a restaurant.

Opponents might say the fact that patrons can be armed could deter criminals from trying to rob restaurants. Guns in the hands of the law-abiding prevent criminal
acts, or so the story goes.

But that line of thought actually raises more disturbing questions. Do we really want a criminal and a patron exchanging gunfire in a crowded restaurant? We think
not.

And when a supposedly law-abiding person with a gun can get drunk, get angry, pull his gun and fire, something is wrong with the picture.

Furthermore, restaurants are usually family friendly, but it’s not so friendly when mom and dad take their children out to eat and have to sit close to someone with
a gun strapped to their hip. In fact, it’s downright hostile.

Guns should be banned from restaurants, plain and simple. Alcohol is served there, intoxicated people congregate there and the possibility for violence exists.
Guns should not be allowed.

At the very least, if the state government isn’t willing to do something, then restaurant owners should take it upon themselves to ban guns. People are only legally
allowed to carry unconcealed guns in restaurants that don’t ban them.

So get rid of the guns already, or deal with more armed drunks in the future.