West Virginia Senate Passes Preemption Bill to include more Weapons

AmmoLand ^ | 13 February, 2020 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

The West Virginia Senate passed Senate Bill 96, a reform of the state weapons preemption law, on 11 February 2020. It passed with a vote of 30 in favor, 2 opposed.

It appears all 50 states have some form of weapons preemption law.  Such laws prohibit local governments from enacting rules, ordinances or limits on the exercise of Second Amendment rights. This ensures some weapons laws are uniform across the entire state.

The preemption laws vary in effectiveness and scope. In West Virginia, the current preemption law §8-12-5a has this heading:

§8-12-5a. Limitations upon municipalities’ power to restrict the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership,carrying, transport, sale and storage of certain weapons and ammunition.

The current law prohibits local governments from regulating revolvers, pistols, rifles, shotguns, or any ammunition components, in a manner in conflict with state law. SB96 expands the protection of the current preemption law to include the most deadly weapons and pepper spray. From Senate Bill 96:

(b) For the purposes of this section:

“Deadly weapon”means an instrument which is designed to be used to produce serious bodily injury or death or is readily adaptable to that use. The term “deadly weapon”includes, but is not limited to:   

(A) A blackjack, gravity knife, knife, switchblade knife, nunchuka, metallic or false knuckles,pistol, revolver and firearm, as defined in §61-7-2 of this code, or other deadly weapons of like kind or character which may be easily concealed on or about the person; and 

 (B) A rifle and a shotgun.

“Deadly weapon”does not include explosive, chemical, biological and radiological materials,or any item or material owned by a school or county board of education intended for curricular use, and used by a student solely for curricular purposes.

Parsing the wording carefully, the bill brings all arms under the protection of the preemption law, with the

[marktwain]

The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, all arms, not just firearms.

[Spktyr]

Technically, the way that’s worded means that localities *can* regulate night sights on pistols as they are technically radiological. Same thing with any tritium sighting device like a SUIT or Trijicon product.

[gundog]

I thought that hands, feet, and hammers were the most deadly weapons.

[Gay State Conservative]

It appears all 50 states have some form of weapons preemption law. Such laws prohibit local governments from enacting rules, ordinances or limits on the exercise of Second Amendment rights.

Well,I suppose that 49 states might have these laws but I'll bet everything I own that Massachusetts doesn't. Massachusetts legislators and judges have utter contempt for the 2nd Amendment.and they don't even try to hide it.

For proof just google "Caetano v Massachusetts" a SCOTUS case in which they voted 9-0 to overturn a Massachusetts law meant to deny 2nd Amendment rights.

[marktwain]

Wikipedia says Massachusetts has "limited preemption for some laws" but does not say what that is.

It also says there is no preemption for handgun or long gun laws.

[Gay State Conservative]

In Massachusetts one must apply for a LTC to the Chief of Police of the city/town in which he lives. That Chief has absolute discretion in approving,or denying,an application. The only recourse that one who's been denied has is to appeal to the State Police.

I know this because I recently applied and was denied. I live in a fairly affluent suburb just chock full of bleeding heart Maoists and my town is known as one where applications are rarely approved. I've lived a life so clean...and so so boring...that it would make you weep. Yet I was denied.

That,to me,is "preemption".

[marktwain]

Yes, Massachusetts frequently and flagrantly infringes on its residents Second Amendment rights.

There is some hope the Supreme Court, with two new President Trump appointees in Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, will offer some relief.

A case is coming up this term. We should get an opinion by the end of June.

No one knows how, or how much, will be decided by it.

[Gay State Conservative]

A case is coming up this term. We should get an opinion by the end of June.

Yup,I think it's against the City of New York.We'll see.But as I mentioned there's a recent SCOTUS case that was 9-0 in favor of 2nd Amendment rights.So perhaps there's hope.I'll include a link to the decision.

I do think it's curious that the big 2nd Amendment cases come from Marxist cities/states like NYC,DC,Chicago and Massachusetts.

Caetano v Massachusetts

[marktwain]

Yes, I think Caetano is way underrated.

I have written several articles about it.

[marktwain]

The Second Amendment cases come from far left places, because it is those places that egregiously infringe on Second Amendment rights.

[ModelBreaker]

“It appears all 50 states have some form of weapons preemption law. Such laws prohibit local governments from enacting rules, ordinances or limits on the exercise of Second Amendment rights. “

Colorado has a preemption law for open carry. The state supreme court said some years ago that it means the exact opposite of what it says. So our open carry rules are a patchwork of local laws.