Why didn't he just ask them to leave? If they would not leave, it would be trespassing, and then he could call the police.
Howell's bill and the proposed lifting of the concealed-weapon restaurant ban both boil down to a balance between the restaurant owner's right to a safe establishment and the gun owners' right to bear arms.
Senator Howell, and other gun grabbers, would take the decision to allow armed patrons in a restaurant away from the owner and give it to the state. Typical liberal methodology. Responsible gun owners will not go where they are not wanted. They'll take their business elsewhere. Of course some restaurateurs would not want armed customers, but would prefer the state force there competition to operate under the same restriction, so that their business would not suffer the results of their hoplophobia.