West Virginia: Governor Manchin Signs Bill to Prevent Bloomberg’s Gun Dealer Entrapment Schemes

Today Governor Joe Manchin (D) signed NRA-supported Senate Bill 1005 into law in West Virginia.  He had vetoed the original version of this bill (SB 515) earlier this year due to a drafting error.  Recognizing the importance of this measure, Governor Manchin added SB 515 to his agenda for the 2010 Extraordinary Session and it was renumbered SB 1005.  Both bills, introduced by State Senator Jeff Kessler (D-2), will make it a crime to knowingly solicit illegal gun sales and to conduct illegal sting operations like those conducted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“I would like to thank Governor Manchin and the West Virginia legislature for taking the necessary steps to prevent these illegal entrapment schemes," said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA-ILA. “We hope that governors and legislators around the country follow in Virginia and West Virginia’s footsteps and make this the law of their respective states.”

This measure passed out of the West Virginia House of Delegates on May 14, 2010 and will take effect ninety days from its passage.  A similar piece of legislation was signed into law in Virginia in 2007.

“Any elected official who wants to truly have an impact on reducing crime knows that the way to do it is to focus law enforcement resources on prosecuting crime,” concluded Cox. “Our hardworking federal, state and local law enforcement officials should be able to do their jobs without having to worry about out-of-state politicians and their political agendas.”