H. B. 2142
(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced January 13, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article seven, chapter
sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing mental
hygiene commissioners to carry concealed weapons.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article seven, chapter sixty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-6. Exceptions as to prohibitions against carrying
concealed deadly weapons.
The licensure provisions set forth in this article shall not
apply to:
(1) Any person carrying a deadly weapon upon his or her own premises; nor shall anything herein prevent a person from
carrying any firearm, unloaded, from the place of purchase to his
or her home, residence or place of business or to a place of
repair and back to his or her home, residence or place of
business, nor shall anything herein prohibit a person from
possessing a firearm while hunting in a lawful manner or while
traveling from his or her home, residence or place of business to
a hunting site, and returning to his or her home, residence or
place of business;
(2) Any person who is a member of a properly organized
target-shooting club authorized by law to obtain firearms by
purchase or requisition from this state, or from the United
States for the purpose of target practice, from carrying any
pistol, as defined in this article, unloaded, from his or her
home, residence or place of business to a place of target
practice, and from any such place of target practice back to his
or her home, residence or place of business, for using any such
weapon at such place of target practice in training and improving
his or her skill in the use of such weapons;
(3) Any law-enforcement officer or law-enforcement official
as such are defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter
thirty of this code;
(4) Any employee of the West Virginia department of
corrections duly appointed pursuant to the provisions of section five, article five, chapter twenty-eight of this code while such
employee is on duty;
(5) Any member of the armed forces of the United States or
the militia of this state while such member is on duty;
(6) Any circuit judge, including any retired circuit judge
designated senior status by the supreme court of appeals of West
Virginia, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney or
a duly appointed investigator employed by a prosecuting attorney;
(7) Any mental hygiene commissioner duly appointed pursuant
to section one, article five, chapter twenty-seven of this code;
(7) (8) Any resident of another state, who has been issued
a license to carry a concealed weapon by a state or a political
subdivision which has entered into a reciprocity agreement with
this state, shall be exempt from the licensing requirements of
section four of this article. The governor may execute
reciprocity agreements on behalf of the state of West Virginia
with states or political subdivisions which have similar gun
permitting laws and which recognize and honor West Virginia
licenses issued pursuant to section four of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow mental hygiene
commissioners to carry concealed weapons.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.