West Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.

What is the West Virginia Citizens Defense League?

WVCDL is a nonpartisan, nonprofit all-volunteer, grassroots organization of concerned West Virginians who support our individual right to keep and bear arms for defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use, as protected by the state constitution and the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. WVCDL is a tax-exempt organization under § 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

WVCDL was formed by concerned gun owners who believe in our rights as law-abiding citizens to defend ourselves, our homes, and our families

WVCDL has been created to fill a void left by the lack of a state-level organization in West Virginia lobbying the Legislature on behalf of our interests as law-abiding gun owners

WVCDL exists to advance a pro-gun owner agenda in the West Virginia Legislature and at the local level

WVCDL is seeking to enact several critical, long-overdue bills for West Virginia gun owners, including:

• Concealed handgun license reciprocity reform to enable West Virginia's CHL holders to lawfully carry in the 33 other right-to-carry states that have adopted reciprocity legislation and to enable the millions of our fellow Americans in other states who have CHLs to legally carry while visiting West Virginia.
• Protection of CHL holders' personal information, which is currently available as a public record to anyone from an anti-gun newspaper seeking to intimidate CHL holders to nosy neighbors to an abusive ex-spouse who wants to know where you currently live.
• Removing Social Security numbers from CHL cards, whose current presence is both in violation of federal law and makes our CHLs a one stop shop for identity thieves who get their hands on our wallets.
• Changing the background check process for all CHL applications to include a check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to enable CHL holders to purchase guns from gun dealers without an additional background check at the time of purchase without having to worry about mistakes of identity or computer failures delaying the lawful purchase of a gun.
• Reducing the excessive fees currently charged for CHLs in West Virginia.  Compared to our neighboring right-to-carry states, West Virginia charges fees of between 167% and 360% of what Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania CHL holders are charged by their states.
• Allowing members of the military and honorably discharged veterans to submit their proof of military service as an acceptable form of proof of training to obtain a CHL.
• Restoring the right of individuals to legally carry in some publicly-owned buildings where carrying has been increasingly prohibited in recent years.
• Castle Doctrine legislation  to protect our right to self-defense from criminals from erosion by the judiciary and protect innocent victims from unjust prosecutions and lawsuits.
• Reforming emergency management laws to prevent the confiscation of lawfully owned and possessed firearms from law-abiding citizens as was done in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Click here to see what WVCDL has already done for you!

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