Publisher's Notebook

Couple of notes from our gun laws desk, involving weapons both concealed and unconcealed:

Proponents of gun rights have a reason to cheer today. The House of Delegates on Tuesday overwhelmingly (72-27) passed a bill to allow concealed handguns in bars, sending the measure to Gov. Bob McDonnell, who will sign it.

A similar measure was passed and presented over the past few years to McDonnell’s predecessor, Tim Kaine, who vetoed it twice.

Read more about it here.

On the unconcealed gun front, those who watch trends will want to know those who own guns and want to carry them openly have brought a West Coast form of expression to the Old Dominion.

Starbuck’s, the coffee giant that started in Seattle, was the target in Northern California and Washington state of a campaign by gun owners who wanted to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.

In a lot of states, a gun owner has the right to carry it openly; likewise, in a lot of states, businesses have the right to say, not here, partner.

California Pizza Kitchen is one of the corporate entities that said no; gun owners moved next to Starbuck’s, figuring a hippie-dippy Left-Coast tree-hugging coffee outfit would do the same. But Starbuck’s refused the bait. The company took the position that anyone can pack a piece in their stores, if it’s legal in the state. Despite some pressure to change that view, the company is sticking to, well, its guns.

Read more about that story here.

The picture? It’s an AP photo by Elaine Thompson, taken at a anti-gun rally in Seattle today. An observer, Shannon Dunne, sips a venti while watching the action, his Ruger Vaquero handgun at his side.

Philip Morris USA, the tobacco giant owned by Richmond-based Altria Group Inc., is on the warpath against counterfeiters, according to the Associated Press.

Marlboro cigarette counterfeiters, that is. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the old phrase, “Smokin’ O.P.s” (as in other people’s).

Philip Morris just filed federal lawsuits against eight New York and New Jersey retailers that allegedly sold counterfeit Marlboros. That brings the total of lawsuits the company has filed over fake smokes in that region to 35.

Why would cigarette smugglers look to the Big Apple?

Well, New York is potentially Fake Marlboro Country because of the high federal, state and local taxes on tobacco products.

A pack of cigarettes in New York City can cost more than 10 bucks. Might to cheaper and easier to quit…