Find out more about West Virginia's government at congress.org State legislature page State Constitution Secretary of State website

Deb Wells [Message]

As our Patriot Forefathers, WE BELIEVE in these American principles:

1. Individual Liberty: The Liberty of the smallest minority, the Individual - not any collectivism, Left, Right, nor Moderate of any kind, of any group, of any organization.

2. Constitutional Government: A democratic Constitutional Representative Republic form of government - not Democracy, nor Theocracy, nor any elective pseudo-Monarchy, nor any form of government alien to We The People Of The States and Constitution.

3. Sound Money: A Constitutionally sound money policy, Hard Money, a fixed value currency - not a floating value money, nor any money controlled by private special interests.

4. Free Markets: Marketplaces free of government manipulation - not controlled domestically in whole, or in part, by government or monopolies. And Free Trade with all nations willing to trade freely.

5. Non-interventionist Foreign Policy: A Nonbelligerent foreign policy of Neutrality. A foreign policy that treats all nations of people as equals, that honors the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you," and intervenes, manipulates, and/or interferes with none but the Belligerent. We support the Constitutional remedy to protect Americans from private interests that mean us harm - Letters of Marque and Reprisal. And when the time comes for War, those wars should be The People's War as determined by the people's representatives meeting in Congress, as required by The Law Of The Land, the U.S. Constitution - Declared Without Reservation, Wholeheartedly Waged, Fully Ended in Victory.

WE ARE Constitutionalists working among our neighbors and in our communities, for the issues related to our principles - supporting and opposing legislation, State and Federal - pointing out to our neighbors where Public Officials and Candidates for Public Office stand on these issues. We encourage self-study, research, educating Voters, registering others to Vote, and being more active participants in the political process of today. We will cooperate with any, and shall compromise with none.

All that agree with our stand on these five issues, are invited and welcome...

to wage your campaign for Liberty. 

In West Virginia we support:

• Opposition to House Bill 2378 in the 80th Session of the WV Legislature.  When West Virginians vote for people to represent us, those persons should be free, not bound. This is the very principle upon which our American government was founded. To reject this principle is to turn the clock back 235 years.

• West Virginia Gun Owner Protection Act of 2011 - HB 3125 of the 80th Session of the Legislature - a comprehensive fix for what's wrong in the State Code. 

• Single Member Districts for representatives elected to the West Virginia Legislature so that all people in the State may be fairly and equally represented.

• Reduction of the cost of State Government, so that the burden be reduced on West Virginia's people who pay taxes.

• Elimination of the State Government's Tax on Income.

• Real reform of the West Virginia Tax Code, reducing the total number of different taxes.

• Elimination of Targeted Taxes meant to punish people's Individual Right of Choice.

• Adoption of simple, fair, and equatable taxation, so that prosperity may naturally come to the people of West Virginia, and that tax professionals, government and private, no longer regard West Virginia's Tax Code as the worst among the fifty States of the Union.

• Reduce government's alienation of the people's Individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

• The Right of the people and of the State of West Virginia to claim and protect it's Rights encoded in the 10^th Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.

• Opposition by elected Officials of the State to resist and refuse unlawful demands made by a Federal Government unchained from the U.S. Constitution.

• Funding by public money of Nonpartisan General Elections, and eliminate spending public money for the benefit of any Political Party.

• The right of a people to a representative form of governance, voting and electing those who will in turn vote to decide an issue or issues put before them, whether in Legislature, Congress, Assembly, or Convention.

• The right of any political group to organize and conduct it's affairs, free of government's regulation, in any manner it's members see fit.  

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!

And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." ~ Barry Goldwater

"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty." ~ Ronald Reagan
"No great nation that went off the gold standard, remained great." ~ Ronald Reagan
"I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism" ~ Ronald Reagan

"We have allowed our nation to be over taxed and over regulated and overrun by bureaucrats, the founders would be ashamed of us for what we're putting up with" ~Ron Paul

"If you're in a campaign about ideas and the future of the country, the campaign is never over." ~Ron Paul 

"I firmly believe now, our day is coming." ~Ron Paul

Who speaks for you in the 80^th Session of the Legislature? Click here to find out: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/district_zip/zipmems.cfm

Officials elected by District Voters listen to District Voters first, other Voters fourth, and Nonvoters last (if at all). Are you registered to vote? What is your Precinct Number? What Legislative Districts, House and Senate, do you live in? What US Congressional District do you live in? Click here to find out: http://apps.sos.wv.gov/elections/voter/am-i-registered.aspx

The Spread of Local Corruption Posted by Delegate Pat McGeehan

Posted 03/20/11

by Pat McGeehan

This past weekend I received a call from a good friend at the Capitol in Charleston-he had some rather disturbing news for me. Millions of tax dollars going to the Casino. That's correct. Our local State Senators, Jack Yost and Orphy Klempa, along with Delegates Randy Swartzmiller and Ron Jones, helped push through a bill to give $100 million of tax-payer money to the four Casinos in our state. Out of this 100 million over the next ten years, Mountaineer Casino and Wheeling Island Casino, will be showered with millions upon millions. SB 550 is the name of this crony legislation, and though it is couched in complex terminology, the bottom line is this: West Virginia residents will soon be directly subsidizing private casino executives.

Besides the moral aspect of forcefully taking money from people in West Virginia and awarding it to politically-connected companies, there are other reasons why this may in fact be a "bad idea". To understand why, we must only understand simple economics.

Corporate Welfare harms the long-term productive quality of a business and makes them less competitive overall. By artificially propping up a corporation, our government makes them less sensitive to cost and expenses. Instead of paying attention to their customers-the company receiving the corporate welfare is encouraged to pay more attention to government. Over the course of time, this can be devastating to the financial health of both entities-government and the company in question.

When our government delivers tax-payer cash of this magnitude, it causes company officials to make detrimental decisions in the future that they otherwise would not make. The company's chief executives become indifferent to cost, because now, the end customer is not the only one covering their bills. Because of these special privileges from our government, the "privileged" company begins to make careless choices.

Pretend you own a lemonade stand, and you produce one cup of lemonade to the customer for 1 dollar per cup. Sooner or later, someone else down the road opens up a new lemonade stand, and forces you to compete more for your customers. Instead of investing in better quality lemonade at a lower price, you somehow manage to be offered money from the government to help your lemonade stand "become competitive". What a deal! With this new government cash, maybe you decide to hire some of your friends as employees, so you don't have to do as much work yourself. This of course, raises your cost to do business-in turn, raising your final price of lemonade from say $1 per cup, to maybe $2 per cup. At this higher price, you receive fewer customers, but you don't need as many customers now-because your lemonade stand has been artificially supported with government revenue.

At this stage, you become "hooked" on government money. Your lemonade stand, with its current added costs of new employees, your friends that you hired so you didn't have to work as hard (or any other new expenses you added with the government money), cannot survive without continued subsidies. The cycle continues, and over time, more and more government money is demanded. Your lemonade stand becomes more and more expensive and less and less competitive. You now have completely forgotten how to truly compete by yourself, without the government privileges or tax-dollars.

But what about the good-paying jobs the government-subsidized Casino is supposed to offer? Well, in the long term, the wages of their very workers are often hurt as well. Many times, the corporate subsidies interfere with the natural market forces that come about from increased competition elsewhere, the very competition we are told to fear. Over time, the new Casinos in Pennsylvania, and soon Ohio, will likely need more and more skilled employees in this industry to work for them. This new demand for labor will place upward pressure on local wages here in West Virginia. All other factors aside, the Mountaineer Casino, as well as the Wheeling Island Casino, will likely have to offer more of their employees increased salaries, wages, or benefits to ensure that these employees do not leave for a better job with one of their competitors. But because of this government subsidy money, this natural market process is distorted or prolonged from taking place, keeping wages lower than they otherwise would be in the absence of this Corporate Welfare.

Government subsidies often make a company so bloated with new costs that many times, these new expenses offer no real net return on investment. For instance, some of this tax money that will be going to the Mountaineer and Wheeling Island (and the 2 other Casinos in WV) was "justified" by permitting these Casinos to purchase new slot machines that accept fifty-dollar bills. These machines will supposedly make the Casino more "competitive", as their current machines only accept twenty dollar bills. Indeed, maybe these new fifty dollar-bill machines will in fact draw new customers. But if they were so worth the investment, in their own right, then the Mountaineer or Wheeling Island Casino would go forward and purchase these new machines, regardless of whether the government money was granted.

And what does this immorality teach other businesses? That they are less important, or less valuable? Think of Wheeling Corrugated, Homer Laughlin China, Arcellor-Mittal Steel, and the many other small businesses that employ thousands of hard-working residents in our area. Are they not just as significant to our community as these Casinos? This corporate welfare teaches our community that it pays to hire better lobbyists who know how to "work over" the career politicians. Hiring more lobbyists confers no benefit to society and only leads to more political corruption. At the same time, this increased venue of cronyism discourages more companies from investing in the local market in order to become more competitive. Real jobs come from this increased investment, which boosts productivity and confers better service and prices for the customer.

Of course, the government money is ultimately derived from somewhere-it is not "free". This money comes from you, the tax-payer. $100 million to the Casinos in our state is the equivalent of every man, woman, and child in West Virginia being forced to drop-off 57 bucks cash at the Mountaineer or Wheeling Island, or one of their 2 sister gambling joints. Over time, this concept of corporate welfare represents either less money in your pocket to purchase things you need to support your family, like food or rent. Or it represents less money for our state government to provide our public with necessary services like the maintenance of roads and infrastructure, education, or law enforcement.

I can ensure you, our state government has very limited resources, and currently these resources are being stretched thin. Next year, our state government has a projected budget deficit of $200 million, and each subsequent year will likely get worse before it gets better. West Virginia has an estimated $8 billion unfunded liability in the form of retirement funds and teacher pensions, all of which will add to the coming deficit gaps. For a relatively small state like ours, this could spell disaster. Our state government cannot "print money" like Washington D.C.-and further, we can no longer rely on Washington for hand-outs in the future. Washington is broke as well. Throwing tax-money around to the Casinos willy-nilly is not the answer to these very real problems.

West Virginia is facing growing revenue problems in the coming years. Businesses have to learn how to invest and compete in the market-and stand on their own two feet. By taking money from tax-payers and redistributing them to the Casino, we are only creating a moral hazard that teaches the Casino and other businesses as well, that when times get tough, they can go to the government for more help. To be sure, we do need to cut taxes and reduce the burden on business here in our state-but we must equally cut taxes across the board, treating all business the same, providing no privilege to any one company or industry. This is the path towards Free Enterprise, and not Crony-Capitalism-and it is the only path known to man-kind which can bring real prosperity to the people of our state.

Furthermore, we must prioritize-and we must protect the public treasury from those that would plunder and loot it. It matters not whether you are Republican or Democrat, for this is hardly a party issue, this is a right and wrong issue. This is not merely a dangerous precedent to set-for this policy of moral decay stands diametrically opposed to the American vision set forth by our Founding Fathers. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "Experience has shown, that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted and looted the public."

WV's Campaign for Liberty Region One Coordinator speaks at the Capital Posted by EdwardRBurgess

Posted 02/21/11

Former Delegate Pat McGeehan talkin' up Liberty under the dome!

A Call To Action for Defenders of American Rights in West Virginia Posted by EdwardRBurgess

Posted 02/16/11

Phone the House Judiciary Committee at 304 340 3252 and ask that HB3125 be put on the Committee's Agenda for a Vote. And then thank the call-taker. If you don't get through, keep phoning.

Contact by two methods, YOUR Delegate on the House Judiciary Committee - see members here: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/house/HouseCommittee.cfm?Chart=jud
See your Delegates here: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/district_zip/zipmems.cfm

HB3125 = West Virginia Gun Owner Protection Act of 2011 - a comprehensive fix for the many things wrong in the State Code regarding government's alienation of our Creator-given Rights guaranteed by the US and State Constitutions to defend ourselves as Individuals. Details below.  

This Call To Action is active till a Vote by the House Judiciary Committee.

________________________

Details as per coalition partner, West Virginia Citizens Defence League:

West Virginia Gun Owner Protection Act of 2011 was introduced in the House of Delegates on Monday, February 14, 2011, as HB 3125 by Delegates Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, Margaret Staggers, D-Fayette, Larry Kump, R-Berkeley, and Roger Romine, R-Tyler and makes wide-ranging improvements in West Virginia gun laws, including:

1. (This analysis begins at §61-7-3) Authorizes concealed carry without a license in most places:

   1. The proposed revisions to W.Va. Code § 61-7-3 would authorize individuals to carry a concealed weapon without a license in all but a handful of locations, almost of which are subject to specific signage requirements (the form of the required sign is identical to but the required text is different than this exemplar).

   2. In most cases, an individual who lawfully carries a concealed weapon without a license is subject to a duty to inform a law-enforcement officer who contacts the person for an official purpose.

   3. The proposed amendments to §61-7-7 prohibit certain categories of individuals from carrying a concealed weapon in a public place; these categories generally correspond to most states' categories of individuals who are disqualified from obtaining a concealed weapons license. This bill permits an otherwise disqualified person to petition the circuit court for relief from disability.

2. Reforms concealed weapons licensing law:

   1. Expands scope of license to cover all weapons generally.

   2. Establishes multi-class licensing system.

      1. Based on North Dakota's recent success in expanding their reciprocity with other states by creating a two-tier licensing system, WVCDL is proposing a 5-class licensing system in which--depending on a person's age and whether the person has been fingerprinted and/or completed a specific live fire shooting proficiency exercise in addition to a basic demonstration of competence with a handgun--individuals who choose to upgrade to a Class 1 license would qualify for reciprocity in every state that has some form of reciprocity law in effect:

         

         Other license classes would have differing reciprocity maps. WVCDL estimates that Class 3 licenses (the base level of license for licensees at least 21 years of age) would be honored in all states with which West Virginia currently has full reciprocity plus Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, and Texas.

      2. Reduces minimum licensing age (for Class 4 and 5 licenses only) from 21 to 18.

      3. Expands permissible forms of proof of training for base (Class 3 or 5) license.

   3. Establishes nonresident licenses.

   4. Closes "if background checks are complete" loophole on 45 day time limit for issuing license and require sheriff to issue temporary license or temporary renewal license not later than the end of the 45-day period unless a regular license is issued.

   5. Improves background check process to qualify all licensees whose licenses are issued, renewed, or reissued after this bill takes effect for an exemption under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3)(A) from separate background checks to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer:

      

   6. Requires all licensing fees to be used solely for administering the concealed weapons licensing law.  Current law gives sheriffs absolute discretion to spend any surpluses at the end of a fiscal year for any official purpose. This law encourages sheriffs to not hire enough staff to process all applications in a timely manner despite adequate funds to do so.  Unfortunately, in the most outrageous case of misuse of licensing fees, former Mercer County Sheriff Danny Wills misappropriated funds from the Mercer County concealed weapons license administration fund to finance his personal drug habit, for which he subsequently pleaded guilty to a federal charge of obtaining hydrocodone by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery and subterfuge and went to prison.

   7. Adjusts the expiration and renewal cycle to coincide with the renewal cycle of driver's licenses (which expire every 5 years on the licensee's birthday when the licensee has a birthday evenly divisible by 5). In addition to making the renewal date easier to remember, this revised renewal schedule will evenly distribute application volumes over time and reduce periodic delays in processing that occur during periods of peak application activity. This bill will prorate license fees to correspond to the amount of time for which a license is issued.

   8. Automatically extends licenses issued to service members who are deployed.

   9. Improves process for appealing denial, suspension, or revocation of a license.

      1. Establishes process for appealing suspension or revocation of license to correspond to process for appealing denial of license.

      2. Establishes optional process for informally petitioning sheriff to reconsider denial, suspension, or revocation of license before appealing to circuit court.

      3. Places burden of proof on sheriff to justify denial, suspension, or revocation of license by clear and convincing evidence.

      4. Requires court to grant a de novo review to all matters appealed by an applicant or licensee.

      5. Expands access to appellate process by deferring filing fees & court costs to conclusion of case and requiring award of court costs, attorney fees, and other reasonable costs of litigation to any person who successfully appeals a denial, suspension, or revocation of a license.

   10. Provides optional processes for a licensee to file a notice of change of name or address, obtain a replacement license and, when moving to another county, have his or her license file transferred.

   11. Reduces license fees for a 5-year license from $90 to $60.  $15 of this fee reduction is achieved by eliminating a surcharge (tax) dedicated to the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund, which has nothing to do with the administration of concealed weapons licenses.  However, there is an additional fee for first-time applicants for a Class 1 license to cover fingerprint processing costs (not required for renewals).

   12. Improves process of identifying licensees who have become disqualified from continued licensure and suspending or revoking those licenses.  These changes will help expand West Virginia's reciprocity with other states and assist in qualifying West Virginia for addition to the list of states whose concealed weapons licensees are exempt from federal firearm purchase background checks.

   13. Requires sheriffs to mail renewal notices to all licensees 60-90 days before a license expires.

   14. Requires compilation and publication of annual statistical data concerning concealed weapons licenses.

   15. Requires the Attorney General to annually report to the Legislature on reciprocity with other states and the status of West Virginia concealed weapons licenses as a qualifying alternative to a federal firearm purchase background check.

   16. Requires the Attorney General to publish & annually update a compendium of West Virginia weapons, self-defense, and use of force laws.

   17. Closes public access to names, addresses, and other personally-identifying information of all applicants & licensees; prohibits the unauthorized distribution of confidential information; and provides limited access to certain information by political party state executive committees or any nonprofit firearm-related or hunting-related educational or issue-advocacy organization exempt from federal income taxation under § 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (such as WVCDL).

   18. Establishes system of temporary emergency licenses to provide immediate licensure to individuals who have developed exigent circumstances, pending completion of the required training course and normal background check process for a regular license.

   19. Makes various administrative improvements not listed here in greater detail.

3. Reforms law governing categories of persons prohibited from possessing firearms:

   1. Conforms state law to federal law regarding the restoration of firearm rights to individuals who have received a pardon or expungement for a disqualifying crime.
      Unlike federal law, current West Virginia law does not automatically restore firearm rights to individuals who have received a pardon or expungement for a disqualifying crime.  Furthermore, the absolute bar under current §61-7-4 on issuing a concealed weapons license to anyone who has ever been convicted of a felony, regardless of whether the person has received a pardon or expungement, or had civil rights restored, prevents West Virginia from being able to grant anyone a restoration of firearm rights that is effective under federal law.

   2. Conforms state law to federal law regarding firearm disabilities for domestic violence convictions and protective orders:
      Several recent federal appellate court decisions have significantly narrowed the scope and applicability of the Lautenberg amendment, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). However, W.Va. Code § 61-7-7(a)(8) is written in a manner that, in light of recent federal case law developments, places much broader restrictions on the gun rights of individuals who are no longer barred by federal law from possessing firearms.  Additionally, W.Va. Code §§ 48-27-403 and 502 contain provisions that arguably place greater restrictions on the ability to possess firearms of a person who is subject to a domestic violence protective order than 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)--especially with regard to protective orders obtained by individuals who do not fall within the narrow relationship categories covered by 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8).  These issues were first brought to WVCDL's attention last year during our successful campaign to defeat HB 4422, which has been reintroduced this year as HB 2346.

   3. Expands eligibility for relief from firearm disabilities.

4. Establishes standardized process for local chief law-enforcement official approval of transfer of National Firearms Act weapons (machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, etc.).

5. Reduces & reforms places where carrying is prohibited:

   1. Modifies prison contraband statute to apply prohibition on possession of weapons and other prohibited materials to the "secure area of a correctional facility" to which inmates have access and which are posted with specified signage (the form of the required sign is identical to but the required text is different than this exemplar).  The current statute appears to apply to the entire grounds, including unsecured, publicly-accessible vehicle parking areas.

   2. Repeals State Capitol carry ban.

   3. Reforms prohibition on weapons on school property:

      1. Completely exempts nonstudent adults who are licensed to carry concealed weapons. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act (18 U.S.C. § 922(q)) and state laws in Alabama (Ala. Code §13A-11-72(e)), California (Cal. Penal Code§ 626.9(l)), Delaware (Del. Code Title 11, § 1457), New Hampshire (no state gun-free schools law), Oregon (Ore. Rev. Stat. § 166.370(3)(d)), Rhode Island (R.I. Gen. Law § 11-47-60), and Utah (Utah Code §§ 76-10-505.5(3)(a)and 523(2)) give people licensed to carry concealed weapons a complete exemption from the prohibitions on carrying weapons on school property.  Many other states have various provisions either allowing licensed individuals to leave loaded guns in their cars without the need to unload before entering school grounds (current West Virginia law exempts unloaded guns in cars for anyone) and/or reducing the penalty for violations of state laws from a felony to a misdemeanor for licensed individuals.

      2. Requires posting of specific signage at all public entrances to school property providing specific warning of weapons restrictions (the form of the required sign is identical to but the required text is different than this exemplar).

      3. Reduces penalty for violations from a felony to a misdemeanor except in cases in which a person committed the violation with the specific intent to use the weapon in the commission of a crime.

      4. Eliminates suspension or revocation of a driver's license as a penalty for misdemeanor violations.

   4. Reforms courthouse carry ban:

      1. Limits application of courthouse carry ban to courtrooms, judges' chambers, and other places where court is held unless a broader secure restricted access area is established (see below).

      2. Requires free, secure weapon storage areas at all entrances to areas of a courthouse where carrying weapons is prohibited.

      3. Requires posting of specific signage at all entrances to areas of a courthouse where carrying weapons is prohibited (the form of the required sign is identical to but the required text is different than this exemplar).

   5. Authorizes all state and local government entities to designate all or part of any public building as a secure restricted access area and prohibit possession of weapons inside restricted area if specified security measures are maintained, free, secure weapon storage areas are provided at each entrance to a restricted area, and specified signage is posted at all entrances (the form of the required sign is identical to but the required text is different than this exemplar).

6. Reforms wanton endangerment involving a firearm statute to limit felony charge of wanton endangerment to cases in which a firearm is discharged.  This bill reverses Syllabus Point 5, State v. Hulbert, 209 W.Va. 217, 544 S.E.2d 919 (2001) ("Because the offense of wanton endangerment with a firearm is defined, not in terms of whether the firearm is discharged, but merely with reference to the commission of 'any act,' the discharge of a firearm is not an element of West Virginia Code § 61-7-12.") (slip opinion availablehere). The Hulbert decision effectively eliminated any distinction between the misdemeanor offense of brandishing and the felony offense of wanton endangerment when the weapon involved is a firearm.

7. Prescribes new, enhanced criminal penalties for the unlawful use or possession of firearms during the commission of felony crimes of violence, felony drug offenses, certain other drug offenses, and certain other criminal acts.

8. Clarifies statute governing private property weapon restrictions:

   1. Requires notice of private property owner-imposed carry restrictions, other than those applicable to a private residence, to be indicated by specified signage.

   2. Clarifies requirement of confrontation & opportunity to cure before carrying weapon in violation of private property owner-imposed restriction constitutes a criminal offense, civilly actionable conduct, or cause for other sanctions.

   3. Provides immunity to private property owners who voluntarily refrain from restricting the otherwise lawful carrying of weapons by individuals licensed to carry concealed weapons.

9. Right to possess and store weapons in vehicles: This bill prohibits any public or private property owner, employer, educational institution, or contracting entity, from restricting or prohibiting the possession or storage of lawfully-possessed weapons in any private vehicle. This bill provides immunity from liability for the acts or omissions of individuals who store weapons in vehicles as authorized by this section.  This bill provides civil remedies and criminal penalties to enforce this section.

10. Strengthens preemption:

    1. Eliminates grandfathered municipal ordinances.

    2. Includes all concealable weapons as well as firearms under preemption.

    3. Includes state agencies under preemption.

    4. Includes under preemption various quasi-governmental entities that are technically private entities but are effectively controlled by state or local government entities based upon either the appointment of officers or directors or financial support.

    5. Establishes additional provisions prohibiting direct or indirect registration of firearms or concealable weapons.

    6. Establishes strong civil remedies and criminal penalties for preemption violations.

11. Provides additional protections to individuals whose firearms or concealable weapons are seized by a law-enforcement officer:

    1. Requires weapons temporarily seized during a law-enforcement contact that were lawfully possessed to be returned to the person at the conclusion of the contact in the same condition & configuration (e.g., if a law-enforcement officer temporarily seized a loaded handgun, the officer would have to return the handgun to the person loaded and permit the person to re-holster it or return it to any other place from which it was taken).

    2. Requires law-enforcement agencies that seize and retain a weapon to maintain its integrity. This requirement is intended to require seized weapons to be kept clean and in the same condition as they were originally taken so that if the weapons are later returned (either voluntarily or pursuant to a court order), the weapon will not suffer any loss of functionality or other value.

12. Regulates "gun buy-back" programs and disposition of firearms by law-enforcement agencies.

    1. Requires approval of applicable municipal governing body or  county commission before any municipal police department or county sheriff's department may participate in any "gun buy-back" program.

    2. Requires all acquired guns to be examined for evidence of criminal activity.

    3. Requires certain efforts to check acquired guns against records of stolen guns and return of stolen guns to lawful owner.

    4. Requires all guns that are disposed of by any law-enforcement agency (including guns acquired through "gun buy-back" programs, forfeited weapons, and used weapons that are being removed from service) to be offered for sale to licensed dealers through public auction or sealed bids.

13. Requires award of attorney's fees to successful litigants in certain cases involving an individual's right to keep and bear arms, including:

    1. Appeals of denials, suspensions, or revocations of concealed weapons licenses.

    2. Certification of NFA weapon transfers.

    3. Successful defense against a lawsuit where a private property owner has immunity for acts or omissions of individuals licensed to carry concealed weapons.

    4. Enforcement of an individual's right to possess and store weapons in a private vehicle.

    5. Actions to enforce preemption law.

    6. Actions to enforce anti-registration law.

    7. Recovery of unlawfully-seized weapon.

    8. Compelling compliance with requirement to resell certain weapons at public sales.

    9. Certain other actions to enforce an individual's right to keep and bear arms under either the state constitution or statutory law.

14. Updates language in Central State Mental Health Registry statute.

15. Establishes a statute of limitations for most felony weapons offenses.

16. Establishes a process to set aside and expunge certain convictions for misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence:

    1. This bill will enable individuals who have certain domestic violence-related convictions in West Virginia to petition the circuit court of the county in which the conviction occurred to expunge a conviction.  Under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(B)(ii), an expunged conviction is disregarded for the purposes of determining whether a person may lawfully possess a firearm.

    2. This bill establishes a sliding scale of presumptions and burdens of proof based upon the recency of the conviction and whether the person has any other domestic violence-related convictions.

17. Directly amends various state agency rules previously approved by the Legislature to eliminate various restrictions under the Code of State Rules on the possession or carrying of firearms by private citizens engaged in various regulated activities.

18. (At this point, this analysis begins at §55-18-3 and goes backward) Provides qualified immunity from civil liability for certain firearm safety instructors who provide instruction in reasonable and accepted firearms safety principles and techniques.

19. Prohibits discrimination against lawful owners of firearms in adoption proceedings.

20. Requires notice to be provided to persons subjected to guardianship or conservatorship proceedings of the potential effect of those proceedings on the person's eligibility to lawfully possess firearms.  The current notice lists certain rights that may be affected by the proceedings, but the right to possess firearms is not among them.

21. Requires court or mental hygiene commissioner to make findings regarding whether persons involved in certain mental health proceedings may lawfully possess firearms and provide notice of effect of the proceedings on the individual's ability to lawfully possess firearms.

22. Modifies no-discharge zones: This bill would create an exemption to the areas within which the discharge of firearms is prohibited to exempt from the prohibition on discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling (1) an occupant of the dwelling if no other homes are located within 500 feet and (2) any person who has the written consent of all owners or lessees of homes within 500 feet.

23. Reforms various hunting-related statutes governing the possession or carrying of firearms:
    West Virginia's hunting laws (W.Va. Code §§ 20-2-5, 6, 6a, 19a, 42l, and 46e) create a confusing system of regulations concerning the manner in which individuals may carry guns for self-defense purposes when engaging in outdoor activities.  This bill would clarify the legality of carrying handguns, either openly or concealed, as it relates to hunting regulations, and exempt individuals licensed to carry concealed handguns from certain regulations on the manner in which rifles and shotguns must be transported in vehicles or the woods.  These regulations date back to when West Virginia had a highly restrictive "may issue" license to carry law that did not distinguish between open and concealed carry and under which it was virtually impossible for the average law-abiding citizen to get a license, and thus hunting was the only reason people could generally carry guns outside their homes.  This statute was declared unconstitutional in State ex rel. City of Princeton v. Buckner, 180 W.Va. 457, 377 S.E.2d 139 (1988), and subsequently repealed and replaced with no requirement of a license for open carry and a shall -issue law for licenses to carry concealed.
    For an example of the confusion that exists over these statutes, see the conflicting advice concerning open carry in a vehicle of theState Police (open carry in a vehicle is legal) and the Division of Natural Resources (loaded firearms in vehicles illegal except concealed handguns carried with concealed handgun license) and the Supreme Court of Appeals's decision in State ex rel. West Virginia Div. of Nat. Resources v. Cline, 200 W.Va. 101, 488 S.E.2d 376 (1997) (click here for majority slip opinion; click herefor Justice Maynard's dissenting slip opinion).

24. Strengthens hunter harassment statute.

25. Repeals authorization for municipalities to completely prohibit the carrying of handguns and other concealable weapons.

26. Authorizes municipalities to regulate or prohibit the discharge of firearms.

27. Provides all active and retired West Virginia law-enforcement officers the required certification to qualify under federal law to carry concealed firearms nationwide:

    1. This bill provides active and retired law-enforcement officers access to the required training and certification to carry concealed firearms nationwide pursuant to the federal Law-Enforcement Officer Safety Act of 2004 (18 U.S.C. § 926B and 18 U.S.C. § 926C).  LEOSA permits qualified law-enforcement officers, whether on or off duty, and qualified retired law-enforcement officers who undergo annual training and certification to carry concealed firearms nationwide notwithstanding state or local laws.

    2. Requires every West Virginia law-enforcement agency to provide current members and retirees appropriate LEOSA certifications.

    3. Requires State Police to establish state certification program for retired law enforcement officers who reside in West Virginia, regardless of the agency from which the person retired.

    4. Provides prosecuting attorneys and assistant prosecuting attorneys required statutory arrest powers to qualify under 18 U.S.C. § 926B.  The proposed language merely codifies the current arrest powers all prosecuting attorneys already have as private citizens at common law.

28. Repeals prohibition on deputy sheriff reserves from carrying firearms.

29. Makes extensive technical cleanup to various sections of the code that contain outdated cross-references to various current or repealed weapons laws.

Rand takes a stand Posted by Tim Shoemaker

Posted 02/15/11

Last night, aside from the House passing their 10 month extension of the "PATRIOT" Act, the Senate attempted to sneak through a 3 year extension by unanimous consent.

Thankfully for those of us fighting the renewal, Senator Rand Paul objected, meaning the Senate will have to go through the entire procedure for passing this bill.

This morning he wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter to voice his reasons for why he objected and why other senators ought to reconsider their current positions as rubberstamps for Executive power.

Take a moment to read the letter, as Rand "call[s] upon each of my Senate colleagues to seriously consider whether the time has come to re-evaluate many-if not all-provisions of the PATRIOT Act. Our oath to uphold the Constitution demands it."

Ron Paul at CPAC Posted by Matt Hawes

Posted 02/11/11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5KyWxU-bkg

YAL's Jeff Frazee gave Dr. Paul a great introduction, and, while I'm sure the applause was loud on television, there was nothing quite like being in the room with all our liberty-loving activists!