bbq and bullets

After eating at a “Calhoun’s – Taste of Tennessee”, and being generally unimpressed with both the quality of the food, and the flavors of the BBQ sauces, I cannot say as though that particular chain of restaurants was very high on my list of place to go back to. However, after reading through some of the rampant hoplophobia put forward by Mike Chase, the owner of “Calhoun’s” and “The Copper Cellar”, I will be sure never to spend my money at them in the future.

Mike Chase is on Mamma’s side.

The Copper Cellar /Calhoun’s owner is up in arms over a bill that is working its way through the General Assembly that will legalize carrying concealed handguns into establishments that serve alcohol – on the condition that the person packing heat doesn’t drink.

Chase has 16 restaurants, including three microbreweries, in Knoxville, Nashville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Lenoir City. He says he is extremely concerned about both the safety of his customers and employees – as well as his legal liability – if the existing ban on guns in bars and restaurants is repealed.

“Water goes with scotch. Coke goes with Jack Daniels – but guns and alcohol just don’t mix,” Chase said. “It’ll be worse than the Wild West – back then, they wore their guns on their hips where you could see them. Wyatt Earp made them take off their guns when they went into bars. This is ridiculous. Crazy. There are a million scenarios where this could be a disaster – jealous boyfriends, jealous girlfriends, jealous spouses. It’s a bad, bad idea, and whoever is pushing it is absolutely irresponsible. I am always going to oppose anything that will endanger my customers and employees.”

First things first – this proposed bill will not stop Mr. Chase from posting that no handgun carry permit holders may legally carry a firearm into his restaurants, in accordance with Tennessee State Code 39-17-1359. So long as he puts up the appropriately-sized and -worded sign (a simple “no guns allowed” sign is not legally binding here in Tennessee), handgun carry permit holders will be more than willing to work with Mr. Chase, and take their money elsewhere – trust me, his chains are not the only sources of mediocre BBQ here in Tennessee.
Second, cars and alcohol do not mix, and 13,740 people died in 2006 thanks to drunk drivers. Yet, somehow, I do not see Mr. Chase indicating that he has a program in place that limits the number of drinks people can consume per period of time, nor requiring that his bartenders should take individuals’ keys if they are intoxicated, nor refusing to serve any individual who drove to his restaurants, nor advocating for a decrease in the legal limit for BACs. Seems to me that he is potentially endangering not only his customers by serving alcohol those who drive to the restaurants, but also everyone else on the road.
Third, proclaimations of “blood in the streets/bars/parks/etc.” have been made for years, and years, and years, and have never come to pass. Strangely enough, states where concealed carry laws were adopted, where people were allowed to carry into restaurants that serve alcohol, and where carrying in parks was legalized have not experienced any crime epidemics, nor any rampaging handgun carry permit holders. Yes, permit holders have committed crimes over the past decade, but at a much lower rate than their surrounding populace… and yet blood still refuses to flow in the streets.
There is no Wild West any more, and there barely was when it existed. If people are going to carry handguns into Mr. Chase’s restaurants and drink, they have been doing it already, whether he is willing to admit to it or not. The people who have been staying out of the restaurants with their handguns are not the ones you should worry about – after all, they are abiding the laws now, why would they stop in the future?
Congratulations, Mr. Chase – you just alienated a couple hundred thousand of your fellow Tennessee residents, and, more importantly, customers. That may not have been the wisest course of action. Oh, and as for good, cheap, and eminently tasty BBQ, I highly recommend Tony Gore’s Smoky Mountain BBQ and Grill – and since they do not serve alcohol there (something about the owner being a Southern Baptist gospel singer), you are free to carry your handgun in, even today.