Just because…

A restaurant has posted a sign banning guns inside doesn’t mean people won’t still break the law (as they do all the time, permit-holders too) and carry their guns inside and hope they don’t get caught instead of leaving their gun in the car.

I’ve had several deleted commenters say they fully intend to take their gun wherever they want, regardless of what the restaurant says, and regardless of the fact that it’s breaking the law to take a firearm inside an establishment that has posted the “no guns” appropriate signs. So much for these law-abiding citizens wanting to protect us from all the people who shoot up restaurants like every day.

You know, like when… remember when… how when… never mind, I can’t actually remember any recent local incidents of someone coming INTO a dining establishment while it’s crowded with folks and shooting up the place. However, the fact that it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it couldn’t, just as the fact that my dog has yet to speak words to me doesn’t mean she might not let forth with how she’s really feeling any minute now.

For the man (I’m assuming it’s a man, women are rarely so rude) who says I’m squashing his First Amendment rights by deleting his inane comments – dude, seriously. Read the Constitution. It says GOVERNMENT shall make no law abridging freedom of the press. I’m not the government. My blog, my rules. Your blog, your rules. Geez.

Add another to the list…

Molly’s La Casita, 2006 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN.

The owners commented on this site that they will be banning guns from their restaurant! Yay! I heart Mexican food and if my other fave Mexican spot, Los Compadres, doesn’t ban guns, then I’ll have a new favorite Mexican spot!

A new add to the gun-free list?

A Tweeter buddy says Folk’s Folly is not going to allow guns – true or no?

And at saferestaurantstennesse.blogspot.com, Ruby Tuesday’s is apparently going to allow patrons to pack heat. No real loss for me there, I didn’t go there much anyway.

Starting list of eating gun free in Memphis

In no particular order (yet):

- Patrick’s on Park Avenue

- P&H Cafe

- Bosco’s

- Blue Monkey, both locations

RUMORED: The Half Shell and Neely’s may be added to the list, but I’ve not been able to confirm that.

BIG UPS to Steve Steffens, aka blogger Left Wing Cracker for his site saferestaurantstennessee.blogspot.com - he’s got a Martin, Tenn. restaurant on the list, Cheers. We’ll be working together on this project, to let people know where they can eat gun-free.

REMINDER: If you think guns and alcohols and restaurants are a good idea, don’t bother commenting here. Go start your own site. Seriously. Comments are moderated and I won’t be approving anything that isn’t in the vein of who this site is designed for. Looking for a toilet to complain – the CA’s comment boards are free and open to you. Whizz away.

More on eating gun free in Tennessee

In Sunday’s Commercial Appeal, I wrote this about restaurant owners and a diner/blogger who are also against guns in restaurants.

Mike Miller, president of the Memphis Restaurant Association, called after my deadline, but his restaurant, Patrick’s on Park Avenue, will also not allow guns inside. He is also a lifetime member of the NRA, a gun owner and has a conceal-carry permit. (Funny, everyone I talked to about this new law who is against it also owns guns.)

Miller too thinks the feedback is  going to be minimal from folks upset they can’t bring their guns inside. “If I see 500 people a day, I’m thinking there’ll be two people a day who may say something, and that’s only because they can whine.”

I’ll take that rare, hold the bullets, please.

Yes, there are those of us in Tennessee who are not kicked in the head by the legislature’s override of the governor’s veto of a bill that will, starting July 14, allow people to carry handguns into restaurants.

Read the details here and the actual legislation can be downloaded here.

There are those of us who only want to dine at places where people will not be packing, so this is a beginning attempt to catalog those places. And for those of you who like sidearms with your sides, this site is, in a way, for you, although comments will be moderated and chances are anything you have to say will not make the cut. (Just being honest. Go start your own site.)

So, if you know of restaurants that are banning guns, list them here in the comments. If you are a restaurateur who wants Tennesseans who are against this new law to know that your establishment is gun-free, let us know.

Eventually, we’ll categorize the eateries by city and provide links to their websites, if they have one, etc.