H. B. 2457
(By Delegate Ashley)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; 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
thirteen, relating to deadly weapons; use or possession of
a firearm in drug trafficking offenses; criminal penalties.
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
thirteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-13. Use or possession of firearm in drug trafficking
offenses; penalties.
(a) Any person who, during the commission of, and in
relation to, any drug trafficking crime, uses or carries a firearm, is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, in
addition to the punishment provided for such drug trafficking
crime, shall be confined in the penitentiary for not less than
two years nor more than ten years. In the case of a second or
subsequent conviction under this subsection, such person shall be
confined to the penitentiary for not less than five nor more than
fifteen years. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, the court may not place a person convicted for a
violation of this subsection on probation or suspend the sentence
of such person nor may the term of imprisonment imposed under
this subsection run concurrently with any other term of
imprisonment including that imposed for the drug trafficking
crime.
(b) For purposes of this section, the term "drug
trafficking crime" means any felony set forth in article four,
chapter sixty-a of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make unlawful the use
of possession of a firearm in drug trafficking offenses.
Penalties for first offense are confinement in the penitentiary
for not less than two nor more than ten years, and on second
offense, confinement in the penitentiary for not less than five
nor more than fifteen years. Sentence for such felony shall not
be subject to probation and shall not run concurrently with the
drug trafficking sentence.
Section 13 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring are omitted.