W.Va. House OKs Bill Letting People Carry Concealed Guns Without A Permit
Source: NPR
By more than a 2-1 ratio, lawmakers in West Virginia's House of Delegates have approved a bill that would allow gun owners to carry concealed handguns without a permit. The only concealed-carry permits would be for people who are 18-21 years old.
Urging her colleagues to approve the bill, its 19-year-old sponsor, Delegate Saira Blair, said that while she was frightened by death threats she had received, she would feel more secure knowing she could protect herself.
Blair, a Republican who at 19 is the youngest member of the House, was the lead sponsor of the bill, which was approved in a 68-31 vote. Here's part of her speech to the Legislature, as quoted by West Virginia Public Broadcasting: "I'm the only person standing in this chamber in the 18 to 21 year old age period. I can currently not get a permit to carry, and I'll tell you right now, I am scared. I've received multiple death threats in the past year. I am scared. I'm not going to stop what I do on a daily basis; I'm not going to stop going to the mall, I'm not going to stop going to the movies, and I'm not going to stop going to church because of it, but I would feel safer as a law abiding citizen if I knew that I was able to protect myself."
Delegates approved the bill despite a recent poll that found "84 percent of likely state voters and 87 percent of gun owners support or strongly support the existing law requiring a state permit and gun safety training to carry concealed firearms," according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/09/466144398/w-va-house-oks-bill-letting-people-carry-concealed-guns-without-a-permit
The article also quoted Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (a Democrat who can't run for reelection because of term limits) has said he'll veto the bill because of serious concerns by law enforcement for their own safety.
Also, one supporter of the bill stated that "The whole point of the Bill of Rights is to protect the minority from the majority."
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Between your gun pathology, and mountaintop removal coal mining, I may never visit that misbegotten state again in my life. I mean, hard currency is important to you guys, right? Can't pay for everything with rocks of meth, right?
