Posted on 03/02/2015 10:32:17 AM PST by marktwain
L Constitutional carry, or permitless carry, has passed the West Virginia Senate with an astonishing 32 to 2 vote. That means that 14 of the 16 Democrats in the Senate voted for the bill. The two that voted against it were Sen. Ronald Miller (D) and Senator Corey Palumbo (D). Perhaps the vote is not that astonishing.
After all, this is merely the state of affairs that the country was in for most of its existence, nearly everywhere, before the Civil War, or War Between the States if you prefer. Even after the war, most states did not criminalize concealed carry until the progressive wave swept the country after 1900. Recent experience in Arkansas, Wyoming, Arizona, and Alaska have shown that repealing the bans on concealed carry result in no change in crime rates. There may even be a slight decrease. Vermont has had constitutional carry for its entire history, and has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, ranking with the most law abiding European nations, such as Switzerland.
The House looks likely to pass the bill as well. In the House, Republicans outnumber Democrats 64 to 36.
Here is the wording of the bill from From legiscan.com:
(a) Any person who carries a concealed deadly weapon without a state license or other lawful authorization established under the provisions of this code, who is prohibited from possessing firearms under section seven of this article shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and may be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than twelve months for the first offense; but upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, he or she shall be is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary a state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five years and fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a person licensed to carry a concealed weapon pursuant to the provisions of section four, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code who is not prohibited at the time from possessing a firearm pursuant to the provisions of section seven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code or by any applicable federal law may carry a handgun in a concealed manner for self defense purposes while afield hunting, hiking, camping or in or on a motor vehicle.The bill leaves in place the existing permit system so that those who wish to have a permit for reciprocity purposes will be able to do so.
shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and may be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than twelve months
That kind of punishment strikes me as odd, and I've seen it many places in law. A thousand dollars or a full year of your life - huh? like your life is worth $2.74 a day? Puts a new perspective on "minimum wage"...
The move towards restricting gun rights began after the civil war, because implementing requirements for gun permits and gun registration was an excellent way for democrats to keep guns out of the hands of “undesirables” (i.e. newly freed slaves).
Oh, did you mean the War of Northern Aggression?
Indeed.
“...the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed...”
If Earl Ray wants to have ANY sort of political future, he'll sign it with a great big smile.
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