PA Bill Number: HB2235
Title: Providing for regulation of the meat packing and food processing industry by creating facility health and safety committees in the workplace; ...
Description: Providing for regulation of the meat packing and food processing industry by creating facility health and safety committees in the workplace; ... ...
Last Action: Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY
Last Action Date: Apr 25, 2024
West Virginia: Don't worry about the Constitutional carry law :: 03/10/2016
To hear many people talk in the past few weeks, the Legislature’s passage — then override of Gov. Tomblin’s veto — of the “constitutional carry” bill will bring lawlessness to the streets.
But in reality, don’t expect much to change when House Bill 4145 takes effect.
For one, who knows how many criminals regularly carry a concealed handgun without a permit, without training and without concern for the law. In that respect, the only people prevented from carrying a concealed weapon under the previous law were law-abiding citizens who had yet to go through the permitting process.
Obtaining a permit is not difficult. County sheriffs issue concealed carry permits after an individual completes an application process, including a background check, and a training course on proper gun handling and firing. It’s pretty simple. The entire process costs the permit applicant about $100.
Under the new law, the permit process remains, and opens up to people between the ages of 18 and 21.
The primary difference with the new law — in addition to allowing people aged 18-21 to obtain a permit — is that people who qualified for a permit before can now carry a concealed weapon without a permit. They don’t have to go through the training to obtain a permit, but the new law provides incentive for training with a $50 tax credit.
The other major difference is in penalties. “This bill adds very stiff penalties to the violation of gun laws and gun crimes,” Keith Morgan, president of the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, said Monday on MetroNews Talkline.
It is worthy to note the new law does not affect open carry of a hand gun. In West Virginia, adults with no felony convictions can go to most public and private places with a handgun strapped to their belt. No training required. No permits. No need to explain. No problem.
In addition, West Virginians will still need a valid concealed weapons permit to legally carry a concealed weapon in one of the 37 states in which West Virginia has a reciprocity agreement. Citizens from other states cannot legally carry a concealed weapon in West Virginia unless they have a permit from their state, and West Virginia has a reciprocity agreement with their state.
So while opponents and proponents were very vocal about how bad and how good the bill is, not much is likely to change — other than more people being able to exercise their right to concealed carry — and criminals being treated harsher for violation of the law.
