|
House Bill 3074
WVCDL strongly supports legislation to
reform West Virginia’s concealed handgun license reciprocity law to
allow individuals who are not West Virginia residents and who have been
licensed in another state to legally carry concealed handguns in West
Virginia, as this would greatly expand the number of states that would
honor West Virginia licenses. However, we must strongly oppose HB
3074 in its current form because the current language of this bill
actually makes our reciprocity law more restrictive than it currently
is. Our proposed substitute for
HB 3074 addresses these objections and would enable us to strongly
support this bill.
HB 3074 Overview
Under
current West Virginia law, W.Va. Code §61-7-6(7), the Governor is
authorized to execute concealed handgun license reciprocity agreements
with other states to provide for the mutual recognition of licenses
between West Virginia and states that have similar gun permitting laws.
Under
current law, reciprocity agreements have been made with two states:
Kentucky and Virginia. Almost 7 years have passed since the
establishment of our agreement with Virginia. Although more than
30 states have concealed handgun licensing laws and reciprocity laws,
West Virginia has reciprocity with only two of them.
HB
3074 claims to improve the process for establishing reciprocity
between West Virginia and other states. However, we believe its
current language may actually do the opposite and offer a substitute
amendment to correct this problem.
HB
3074
Is Severely Flawed
HB
3074 proposes to improve the reciprocity law by (1) transferring
the responsibility for reciprocity agreements to the Attorney General
and (2) establishing more detailed standards for the establishment of
reciprocity with other states.
Although the
WVCDL strongly supports reforming West Virginia’s reciprocity law to
enable West Virginia licensees to legally carry concealed handguns when
traveling or working in other states and vice versa for visitors to our
state, we strongly oppose HB
3074 in its current form. We believe the existing language of
HB
3074 represents a cure that is worse than the disease.
WVCDL
supports an amendment in the form of a
substitute that will, similar to HB 2199, grant direct, unconditional, unilateral
recognition to licenses issued by every other state, just as every
other state’s driver’s licenses are recognized in West Virginia.
For reasons stated below, the framework of HB
3074 as it is currently written is critically flawed and is doomed
to fail.
Proposed
W.Va. Code §61-7-6a(d) requires states to pass a 4-part test
before they may establish reciprocity with West Virginia. We
believe that this test is so strict that either the strict standards
set in HB
3074 will not be followed or these standards will be followed and
not one state will qualify. In other words, not only will HB
3074 not expand our reciprocity with other states, it will likely
cause West Virginia to lose its existing reciprocity with Kentucky and
Virginia. To be fair, the effect of this will be merely to leave
Kentucky and Virginia residents unable to legally carry concealed
handguns in West Virginia, as both states would recognize West Virginia
licenses regardless of whether we recognize their licenses.
Instant Permit Verification Requirement
Proposed
W.Va. Code §61-7-6a(d)(2) bars the establishment of reciprocity
with any state that does not have an automated, statewide permit
database to enable the instantaneous verification of permits 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.
Presently,
neighboring Virginia has a specific statutory requirement for 24/7
instant verification of permits as a condition of recognizing another
state’s permits. Almost half of all right-to-carry states do not
have such a system and have been unable to pass Virginia’s test.
They would also fail this proposed requirement.
Virginia’s
24/7 verification requirement has been applied recognize the permits of
only 22 other states. See http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms_Reciprocity.shtm
for Virginia’s reciprocity & recognition list. Based on the
application of a similar (indeed, more lenient) 24/7 instant
verification requirement in Virginia, HB
3074’s instant verification requirement eliminates almost half of
all right-to-carry states from eligibility in West Virginia.
Equal
or
Greater Licensing Standards Test
Proposed
W.Va. Code §61-7-6a(d)(1) establishes as the first element of HB
3074’s 4-part test: “The standards applied by the other state
before issuing a concealed handgun license or permit must be equal to
or greater than the standards imposed by this article[.]” We
construe this language as requiring an intensive, strict analysis of a
prospective state’s licensing law and disqualification of a state from
establishing reciprocity with West Virginia if (1) the state does not
have any individual disqualifying factor under its licensing law that
West Virginia has or (2) the state either does not have a formal
training requirement or a training requirement that may be fulfilled by
a means that does not qualify under West Virginia’s training
requirement. Although there are additional means by which we
believe a state may fail the equal or greater licensing standards test,
we believe these two parts of the test will disqualify every other
state
without examining additional factors this requirement may require to be
tested.
Presently,
only the states of Minnesota and South Carolina have an “equal or
greater licensing standards” test in their reciprocity laws.
Under their respective laws, Minnesota recognizes the permits of only 4
other states while South Carolina has established reciprocity with only
11 other states. South Carolina is expected to adopt legislation
this year to abolish their restrictive reciprocity law in favor of
unconditionally, unilaterally recognizing all other states’ licenses
and permits. West Virginia fails both states’ tests. (Note: the
WVCDL's substitute for HB
3074 would enable West Virginia to pass the Minnesota test and
become only the 5th state to receive recognition in the Land of Ten
Thousand Lakes).
Several
other states have “similar licensing standards” or “substantially
similar licensing standards” tests that allow less substantial
variances from their licensing requirements. The licensing
standards of these states and the interpretation of their reciprocity
laws’ licensing standards tests widely vary.
Application
of Licensing Standards Test to Other States’ Disqualifying Factors
The typical
state concealed handgun licensing law has several uniform,
nondiscretionary disqualifying factors that bar disqualified
individuals from being licensed. Although several standard
disqualifying factors (i.e., convicted felons, individuals under felony
indictments, individuals convicted of domestic violence or under
domestic violence protective orders, drug addicts, and other classes of
individuals prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms) are
found in almost every state’s licensing law, every state has adopted
other factors whose occurrence varies widely from one state to
another. West Virginia is no exception (indeed, although we have
several disqualifiers that go beyond federal law, our existing
licensing process omits several federal disqualifiers).
West Virginia
has two uncommon disqualifying factors under our licensing law:
individuals who have been convicted of any misdemeanor crime of
violence involving the misuse of a deadly weapon and individuals who
are on probation or other supervision for any misdemeanor.
Application Licensing
Standards Test to Other
States’ Training Requirements
The second
major component of the HB
3074 licensing standards test that WVCDL believes many states will
fail applies with respect to the widely varying training requirements
of other states.
W.Va. Code
§61-7-4(d) requires applicants for West Virginia licenses to
complete a handgun safety and training course that includes live firing
exercises. Although the vast majority of right-to-carry states
have training requirements (the only states that do not have such a
requirement are several states that had “shall issue” laws prior to the
enactment of the Florida right to carry law, which has served as the
model for every other state’s right to carry law, in 1987, and Idaho
and Mississippi, both of which adopted their respective laws in
1990). The West Virginia training requirement exceeds the
requirements of many other states.
The
application of HB
3074’s licensing standards test with respect to training
requirements will disqualify Virginia from continuing reciprocity with
West Virginia because Virginia has a more expansive list of acceptable
forms of training that includes state hunter safety classes, honorable
discharges from the military, and “any other firearms training which
the court deems adequate.” Because the Virginia training list has
been copied verbatim from Florida's law, Florida would likewise fail
the HB
3074 test. The fair and equal application of the provisions of HB
3074 will terminate our reciprocity with Virginia and bar us from
establishing reciprocity with Florida, the state on whose law almost
all other concealed weapon/handgun licensing laws have been based.
In addition
to Virginia, applying the HB
3074 licensing standards test with respect to other states’
training requirements will likely cause West Virginia to be unable to
offer reciprocity to at least 4 of the 22 states on Virginia’s
reciprocity/recognition list.
Nonresident Licenses & Permits
In addition
to our concerns about the impracticability of HB
3074’s test for qualifying a state to establish reciprocity with
West Virginia, WVCDL objects to a provision (proposed
§61-7-6a(a)(1)) that would bar individuals who have a license or
permit from a qualifying state but who are not residents of that state
from carrying in West Virginia.
Assuming for
a moment that several states do pass HB
3074’s reciprocity eligibility test, most states will probably not
have reciprocity with West Virginia. There are many people in
this country who, for the purposes of traveling, have obtained
nonresident licenses and permits from states with widely-recognized
licenses or permits to enable them to legally carry while traveling in
states that do not recognize their home state’s license or permit but
which recognize one or more of their nonresident licenses or permits.
For example,
I have not only a West Virginia license but nonresident licenses from
Florida and New Hampshire. Together, these licenses enable me to
legally carry in more than 30 states. Many other individuals who
reside in states with limited reciprocity have likewise obtained one or
more nonresident licenses or permits to maximize the number of states
in which they may legally carry.
Regardless
of whether HB
3074’s licensing standards test is abolished, WVCDL supports
striking proposed W.Va. Code §61-7-6a(a)(1) so that an individual
who is not a West Virginia resident, but who also is not a resident of
a West Virginia reciprocal state, might be able to legally carry in
West Virginia by obtaining a nonresident license or permit from a West
Virginia reciprocal state.
Our proposal
to strike the residency requirement of proposed §61-7-6a(a)(1)
would not affect the provisions proposed §61-7-6a(a)(4) that would
independently bar West Virginia residents from carrying a concealed
handgun in West Virginia without a West Virginia license. With a
reasonable accommodation for new residents who have not had sufficient
time to obtain a West Virginia license, we support retaining the
language barring West Virginia residents from being able to legally
carry in this state with another state’s license or permit if they do
not have a West Virginia license.
Proposed Substitute Amendment Can Fix HB 3074’s
Flaws
WVCDL
supports an amendment in the form of a
substitute to HB
3074 that would grant direct, unilateral recognition to the
concealed handgun licenses of all other states without conditioning
this recognition on a test of the other state’s licensing standards,
requiring the execution of a formal reciprocity agreement, or even
requiring the other state to first honor West Virginia licenses.
Under the WVCDL substitute amendment, any
license or permit issued by another state, regardless of the type of
weapon it authorizes the licensee or permit holder to carry in that
state, shall authorize the licensee or permit holder to carry concealed
handguns in West Virginia as long as the licensee or permit holder is
at least 21 years old, not prohibited by federal law from possessing a
handgun, and (with an exception for new West Virginia residents) is not
a West Virginia resident.
The trend
among right to carry states has been to substantially ease reciprocity
laws because the widely varying nature of licensing standards from
state to state has rendered the imposition of licensing standards-based
tests as conditions for establishing reciprocity impossible. We
have the opportunity to learn from other states and avoid the need to
reinvent the wheel when it comes to concealed carry reciprocity.
The WVCDL substitute for HB 3074 mirrors
the laws of 10 other states—Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee,
Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona—that
recognize all other states’ licenses with no conditions attached.
Montana and Texas each recognize the licenses of all but a few states
under laws establishing a minimal test of criminal background check
requirements. An additional 9 states have laws that recognize
another state’s licenses on the sole condition that the other state
either recognize that state’s licenses or agree to do so. Another
10 states have widely varying forms of reciprocity laws of varying
degrees of restrictiveness.
West Virginia’s Federal Delegation Supports a
National Reciprocity Law
During the
109th Congress, Senator Byrd and all three of West Virginia’s
representatives in the House of Representatives were cosponsors of
bipartisan legislation in their respective houses to create a national
reciprocity law for all states’ concealed handgun licenses. H.R.
4547 and S. 3275
(109th Congress) proposed requiring all states to recognize all other
states’ licenses or permits to carry concealed firearms without regard
to licensing standards or an issuing state’s ability to provide instant
verification of a license.
Although we
can obviously not speak for West Virginia’s federal delegation, their
recent support for a national reciprocity law should be
considered. The WVCDL substitute
for HB 3074 would merely bring West Virginia into compliance with
the reciprocity standard supported by almost every member of our
state’s federal delegation.
Overview of WVCDL’s Substitute for HB 3074
The WVCDL substitute for HB 3074 would:
- Recognize all other states’ concealed handgun licenses or
permits, subject only to the conditions that the individual licensee or
permit holder be at least 21 years old, not prohibited by federal law
from possessing a handgun, and not be a West Virginia resident.
- Allow new residents of West Virginia three months from the
date of establishing West Virginia residency to apply for a West
Virginia license, during which time they could continue carrying
concealed handguns in West Virginia with another state’s license or
permit. This provision would cease to apply to an individual if
he or she fails to apply for a West Virginia license within the
required period of time or upon denial of the application.
- Clarify the criminal background check requirements for West
Virginia licenses to ensure West Virginia would be entitled to the
maximum reciprocity possible with other states.
- Establish nonresident concealed handgun licenses to enable
residents of other states, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the
reciprocity language or the effect the bill, as it may subsequently be
amended, will have some means of being able to obtain a valid license
to carry concealed handguns in West Virginia. Nonresidents would
be subject to the same standards & conditions as West Virginia
residents and could apply to any county sheriff. Almost half of
the right-to-carry states issue licenses to both residents and
nonresidents.
Below are maps showing West Virginia's current reciprocity
with other states and our likely reciprocity with other states if the WVCDL substitute for HB 3074 is
adopted in its entirety. These maps are included in our fact sheet on the WVCDL
substitute for HB 3074.
Current West Virginia Concealed Handgun License Reciprocity
Likely WV CHL Reciprocity IF
the WVCDL Substitute for HB 3074 Passes
|
