On Wednesday, April 8, Senate Bill 621 was pulled from the agenda of the House Judiciary Committee after a lengthy debate the evening before. The final determination was that the existing preemption language was sufficient and a clean up would not be necessary. A lawsuit against Martinsburg is planned to require them to repeal their ordinance.
SB621 was a technical clean up of the existing firearms preemption statute which prohibits local jurisdictions from imposing ordinances more restrictive than laws passed by the state legislature.
As we noted in previous alerts, the city of Martinsburg has been exploiting a provision in a section of the statute which they felt authorized them to prohibit the carrying of firearms on all city-owned property. This bill would have removed the language being exploited and therefore nullify the Martinsburg ordinance.
After negotiations between the two chambers, House Bill 3314 was amended in Senate Judiciary Committee and passed by the full Senate. After concurrence by the House, HB3314 was sent to Governor Joe Manchin, III (D) for his consideration.
HB3314 will remove the requirement that licensees of other states be residents of that state. HB3314 will also require that a potential reciprocating state's licensing standards be equal to or greater than that of West Virginia’s. Simply put, HB3314 will grant West Virginia more leeway and freedom when recognizing other states’ standards for concealed handgun permit reciprocity. HB3314 will also remove the permit holder’s social security number from the actual permit as well as mandating that renewals of Right-to-Carry permits be approved within 45 days. HB3314 is similar to Senate Bill 378.
Thank you to all of the NRA members who answered the call to action in support of these bills. At this time, no action is needed in support of HB3314. Please continue checking your email and www.NRAILA.org for updates on the bill.
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Legal & Legislation
Update on Two Pending West Virginia Pro-Gun Bills
Saturday, April 11, 2009
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