Coalition of West Virginia Lawmakers Want to Wipe Away This ‘Gun-Free Zone’

West Virginia already has some of the best gun laws in the nation, including a permitless carry statute, but the state could become even friendlier to fans of the Second Amendment if a newly introduced bill becomes law later this year. 

Since West Virginia’s campus carry law took effect last July, individuals with a valid concealed carry license have been authorized to bear arms in most campus buildings in public colleges and universities. Now a group ten members of the House of Delegates wants to expand those protections to include K-12 campuses as well. 

As of now, public schools are one of the few places in the state where concealed weapons are not allowed even with a permit. Other locations include the state capitol and regional jails and state corrections facilities.

House Bill 2650, which is sponsored by Delegates Horst, Masters, D. Smith, Coop-Gonzalez, Hornby, Worrell, Maynor, Crouse, White, and Bridges, will now go to the education committee for review.

Under current law, school districts can choose to adopt a written policy allowing for possession of firearms inside school buildings, on the grounds of any educational  facility;, and at a school-sponsored function that is taking place in a specific area that is “owned, rented, or leased by the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, a county school board, or local public school for the actual period of time the function is occurring”. 

HB 2650 would change that and allow any person possessing a valid concealed carry license to bear arms on school grounds, school buses, and all other locations that are currently open to concealed carry under a school district’s written policy. 

Though the bill has yet to receive its first committee hearing, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict one of the main arguments in opposition to the bill that will be offered by anti-gun advocates. Under West Virginia law, you must be 21 years old to obtain a handgun carry permit or to carry under the state’s permitless carry statute. Adults 18-to-20, however, can obtain a provisional carry permit that allows them to bear arms in the same locations where over-21s can carry. 

HB 2650 specifically removes the language in state statute limiting carry on K-12 campuses to “any person 21 years or older”, and instead replaces it with the statement that “any person who has a valid concealed handgun permit” is permitted to carry. It’s unclear to me whether that would apply to those who possess a provisional handgun permit, which, after all, is a type of valid concealed handgun permit authorized under West Virginia law, but if that is the case then high school students 18 and older could lawfully carry on campus and even on school buses, so long as they possess that provisional carry license. That may make sense from a pure 2A standpoint, but if it’s indeed the intent of the bill’s sponsors I’m guessing it’s also going to generate a lot of pushback from school officials and even some parents. 

These same teens can already legally bear arms off-campus, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that provisional permit holders are responsible for even a small amount of violent crime in the state. Still, the knee-jerk reaction to high school students (even those who are legally adults) potentially carrying guns to class or on the bus is likely to be negative, especially among non-gun owners. 

We’ll see if HB 2650 survives in its current form or is amended to specifically exempt those who possess a provisional carry license. At the moment there’s no date for the House Educational Committee to take up HB 2650, but we’ll be keeping an eye out and will give folks an update once its on the schedule.