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It’s not just her bills that are sparking attention. State Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, generated buzz on Tuesday by presenting them while wearing her .38-caliber revolver in a custom-made holster.

The first-term senator — a fan of government transparency and opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment — said she wore the gun following an incident Monday in which Capitol Police were called after immigration-rights supporters confronted Sen. Dick Black, R-Loudoun.

Chase said she always carries her gun in concealed fashion but decided Tuesday was a good day to carry openly when she presented her bills in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. Her legislation included an alternative to the Equal Rights Amendment resolution that reaffirms equal protection under the law.

“Sometimes it’s a deterrent for over-exuberant folks. Unfortunately in the General Assembly we see the good, we see the bad, we see all types of things,” she said. “It’s just for personal safety, quite honestly.”

While carrying a concealed handgun in Virginia requires a permit, carrying openly does not.

Black said Monday on the Senate floor that after he presented a bill against “sanctuary cities” he was “swarmed by a group of people taking pictures and being rather confrontational.”