Senate Bill No. 57
(By Senator Blatnik)
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[Introduced February 16, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article seven, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
ten-a, relating to dangerous weapons; prohibiting possession
of dangerous weapons in schools or on the premises of
schools; prohibiting possession of dangerous weapons within
one thousand feet of school property; providing misdemeanor
penalties for violations by persons under eighteen years of
age; providing a felony penalty for violations by persons
eighteen years of age or older; and providing a felony
penalty for custodial parents and other persons in charge of
a minor for failing to prevent a minor from possessing or
brandishing a dangerous weapon on or near school property.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-10a. Carrying or brandishing dangerous weapons on school
property; penalty; penalty for failing to prevent minor from
carrying or brandishing dangerous weapons on or near school
property.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to carry or be in
possession of a pistol, gun or other dangerous or deadly weapon
as defined in section two of this article, including knives,
boomerang stars and nunchukes or to carry, expose, brandish, or
use a dangerous weapon to cause, or threaten a breach of the
peace in or on the premises of any school or educational
institution or within one thousand feet of any school or
educational institution in the state.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to conceal a pistol, gun
or other dangerous and deadly weapon within a locker of any
institution of education in the state.
(c) Any unemancipated person under eighteen years of age who
violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars,
or imprisoned in the county jail not less than six months nor
more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned, in the
discretion of the court.
(d) Any person eighteen years of age or older and any
emancipated minor who violates the provisions of this section isguilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than ten nor more than
twenty years.
(e) A custodial parent, guardian or other adult supervisor
of an unemancipated minor who fails to prevent the minor from
violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the
penitentiary not less than ten nor more than twenty years.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it a crime for
anyone to carry or brandish a dangerous or deadly weapon in or on
school property or within one thousand feet of a school or
educational institution or to conceal a deadly weapon in a school
locker. Minors who violate the provisions of the bill are subject
to a misdemeanor penalty and adults and emancipated minors who
violate the provisions of the bill are subject to felony
penalties. The bill also provides that a custodial parent or
other adult in charge of a minor who fails to prevent the minor
from taking a dangerous weapon on school property is guilty of a
felony and is subject to confinement in the state penitentiary.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.