H.
B.
4029
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegate Burk)
(By Request of the Executive)
[Introduced January 17, 1994; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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 eight-a; and to amend and reenact sections ten and eleven of said article, all relating to denying or suspending the motor vehicle operator's license of any person under the age of eighteen who has been convicted of a crime involving the use of a deadly weapon; making sales, rentals, grants or loans of a deadly weapon to a minor a felony offense; and prohibiting the brandishing, exposing, carrying, holding or unholstering a deadly weapon within five hundred feet of a school by any person who is not in a private residence or who is not in a retail or wholesale firearms establishment; and providing a penalty for violation of these provisions.
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 eight-a; and that sections ten and eleven of said article be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§
61-7-8a. Conviction under deadly weapons provisions as cause
for denial or suspension of license for privilege of
operation of motor vehicle.
(a) In accordance with the provisions of sections three and five, article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code, the department of motor vehicles shall deny a license or instruction permit for the operation of a motor vehicle to any person under the age of eighteen who has been convicted, prior to the time of such person's application for such license or instruction permit, of a violation of section eight or section eleven of article seven of chapter sixty-one of this code
(b) The circuit clerk of each county shall notify the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles of the conviction of any person under the age of eighteen for any violation of section eight or section eleven of article seven of chapter sixty-one of this code within thirty days of any such conviction. Within five days of receipt of such notice, the department of motor vehicles shall send notice to the licensee that the license will be suspended under the provisions of section three, article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code on the thirtieth day following the date the notice was sent unless documentation of compliance with the provisions of this section is received by the department of motor vehicles before such time. The commissioner of motor vehicles shall promulgate interpretive rules by the first day of July one thousand nine hundred ninety-four which define and describe the type of documentation necessary to prove compliance under this section.
§
61-7-10. Display of deadly weapons for sale or hire; sale to
prohibited persons; penalties.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to publicly display and offer for rent or sale, to passersby on any street, road or alley, any deadly weapon, machine gun, submachine gun or other fully automatic weapon, any rifle, shotgun or ammunition for same.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to
knowingly sell, rent, give or lend any of the deadly weapon arms mentioned in this article to a person prohibited from possessing same by any provision of this article.
(c) Any individual, person, association, partnership, corporation or firm violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred thousand dollars nor more than five ten thousand dollars or shall be confined in the county jail for not more than one year, or both:
Provided,
That if any such violation of the provisions of this section involves the sale, rental, grant or loan of any deadly weapon by an individual to a person who is prohibited from possessing or carrying, concealed or openly, any deadly weapon under section eight of article seven of chapter sixty-one of this code, then that individual shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the penitentiary for not less than three years nor more than five years and shall be fined not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars:
Provided,
however
,
That if any such violation of the provisions of this section involves the sale, rental, grant or loan of any deadly weapon by any association, partnership, corporation or firm to a person who is prohibited from possessing or carrying, concealed or openly, any deadly weapon under section eight of article seven of chapter sixty-one of this code, then that association, partnership, corporation or firm shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty-five thousand dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars.
§
61
-
7
-
11.
Brandishing deadly
weapons; threatening or causing
breach of the peace;
brandishing deadly weapons on
premises of educational facility or court;
penalties.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person possessing or armed with a firearm or other deadly weapon, whether licensed to carry the same or not, to carry, brandish, or use such weapon in a way or manner to cause, or threaten, a breach of the peace. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars, or shall be confined in the county jail not less than ninety days nor more than one year, or both.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person possessing or armed with a firearm or deadly weapon, whether licensed to carry the same or not, except for law-enforcement officers on duty, to carry, expose, brandish, unholster or hold such firearm in his or her hand or to carry, expose, brandish or hold such deadly weapon in his or her hand (1) on the premises of, or within five hundred feet of, any primary or secondary educational facility in this state, unless expressly permitted in writing pursuant to section fourteen of article seven of chapter sixty-one of this code, or unless the firearm or deadly weapon is carried, exposed, brandished, or held by a person on the premises of a private residence dwelling which is within five hundred feet of any primary or secondary educational facility, or on the premises of a retail or wholesale merchant who legally sells firearms or deadly weapons which premises is within five hundred feet of any primary or secondary educational facility; except for valid educational purposes by faculty or by individuals invited by faculty or (2) on any premises housing a court of law. Any person who, without willful intent to do so, violates violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county jail not less than six months nor more than one year, or both. Any person who, with willful intent to do so, violates this subsection shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars and shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than two years nor more than five years.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revoke or suspend the motor vehicle operator's license of any person under the age of eighteen years who has been convicted of a crime involving the use of a deadly weapon. The bill also makes it a felony to sell or give a deadly weapon to a person under eighteen years of age. It prohibits the possession of a deadly weapon within five hundred feet of a school and it provides both misdemeanor and felony penalties for violations.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
Section eight-a is new, therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring are omitted.