Senate Bill No. 120
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced January 18, 2000; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article seven, chapter
sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seven-a, all relating to prohibiting possession of a firearm
by a convicted felon; establishing penalty for violation;
establishing penalty for violation while committing a felony;
and providing for court to exercise discretion.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia.
That chapter seven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section seven-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-7. Persons prohibited from possession of deadly weapons.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, no
person who: (1) Has been convicted of a felony in this state or in
any other jurisdiction; (2) Has been discharged under less than
honorable conditions from the armed forces of the United States;
(3) (2) has been adjudicated as a mental incompetent or has been
committed involuntarily to a mental institution; (4) (3) is an
alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or (5) (4) is
addicted to alcohol, a controlled substance or a drug, or is an
unlawful user thereof shall have in his or her possession any
firearm or other deadly weapon: Provided, That any person
prohibited from possessing a firearm or other deadly weapon by the
provisions of this section may petition the circuit court of the
county in which he or she resides and if the court finds by clear
and convincing evidence that such person is competent and capable
of exercising the responsibility concomitant with the possession of
a firearm or other deadly weapon the court may enter an order
allowing such person to possess such weapon if such would not
violate any federal statute. Any person who violates the
provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or confined in the
county jail for not less than ninety days nor more than one year,
or both.
§61-7-7a. Convicted felons prohibited from possession of a
firearm.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, no
person who has been convicted of a felony in this state, or
convicted of a crime in another state that would constitute a
felony in this state or any felony as established by the United
States or District of Columbia shall have in his or her possession
any firearm.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in the state correctional facility
of this state for a
term of not less than two nor more than ten years.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section while
committing a felony shall be guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be confined in the state correctional
facility
of this state for not less than ten nor more than
forty-five years: Provided, That in the discretion of the court,
should the defendant's underlying felony conviction be for a crime that does not constitute a crime of violence or violation of
article four, chapter sixty-a of this code, the court may in lieu
of imposing the above sentence confine the defendant to the state
correctional facility
of this state for not less than one nor more
than five years, assess a fine up to five thousand dollars, or
both.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change from a misdemeanor
to a felony the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Such a change will conform with federal statutes prohibiting
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law; underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.
§61-7-7a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.