Contact Governor Tomblin TODAY and ask him to sign House Bill 2471 and Senate Bill 435 into law
This legislative session marked huge victories for gun owners and sportsmen in the Mountain State as four critical pro-gun reforms were passed in the West Virginia Legislature.
Yesterday, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed two of these four bills into law, Senate Bill 369 and House Bill 2431.
SB 369, sponsored by state Senate Majority Leader John Unger (D-16), increases the number of states that recognize a West Virginia Concealed Pistol/Revolver Permit and allow residents of another state, who hold a valid out-of-state permit or license, to carry in West Virginia. This legislation is effective on July 12, 2013.
HB 2431, sponsored by Delegate Rupie Phillips (D-24), amends the application process for a Concealed Pistol/Revolver Permit, making West Virginia permit holders eligible for exemption from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for firearm purchases. Such carry permit holders have already cleared a background check, and HB 2431 conforms state law to federal law which leads to greater reciprocity for permit holders throughout the United States. This legislation is effective on July 16, 2013.
However, there are still two remaining pro-gun bills that require the Governor’s signature, and he only has until Saturday to sign them into law!
Please call and e-mail Governor Tomblin TODAY and respectfully urge him to sign HB 2471 and SB 435 into law. Governor Tomblin can be reached at (304) 558-2000 or you can click here to send an e-mail.
House Bill 2471, sponsored by state House Speaker Rick Thompson (D-19), would prohibit the restriction of the lawful use, carrying, transfer, transportation, storage or display of a firearm or ammunition during any declared state of emergency. HB 2471 would protect law-abiding citizens in West Virginia from a violation of their constitutional rights reminiscent of what occurred in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where law-abiding citizens were stripped of their lawfully owned firearms by overzealous government officials leaving them defenseless and unable to protect their families and property.
Senate Bill 435, sponsored by state Senator Herb Snyder (D-16) and amended by state Delegate Patrick Lane (R-38), would require Charleston and any other city participating in and benefitting from the underlying bill's Home Rule program that currently has and enforces local gun control ordinances to be consistent and uniform with the rest of the state. For those localities that take advantage of the Home Rule authority delegated by the state legislature, SB 435 would effectively eliminate municipal gun control restrictions such as the three-day waiting period and gun rationing for handgun purchases in Charleston.
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