2008 WVCDL Attorney General
candidate survey
The West Virginia Citizens Defense League Political Action
Committee (WVCDL-PAC) surveyed all candidates for the office of
Attorney General on a range of issues of interest to gun owners.
WVCDL-PAC endorses candidates; WVCDL does not. To
educate the public about the positions of all candidates on gun-related
issues, WVCDL is
making the candidates' responses available to the public.
You may go to each candidate's web site by clicking the
appropriate link:
The responses of each candidate follow each
question.
1.
Many states have “reciprocity” arrangements where they recognize each
other’s concealed handgun licenses. Increasingly, states are
unilaterally recognizing all other states’ concealed handgun licenses
or adding a simple provision to their law that they will recognize the
licenses of any state that recognizes their licenses. These
states have not experienced any problems due to their unilateral
recognition of other states’ permits. However, current West
Virginia law provides very restrictive conditions for the establishment
of reciprocity with other states that disqualify most states from
establishing reciprocity with us. If West Virginia recognizes more
states’ licenses, more states will recognize West Virginia’s licenses,
resulting in West Virginia concealed handgun licensees being able to
legally carry concealed in more states.
During the 2008 regular legislative
session, two bills, SB
228
and HB
4683, both introduced at WVCDL’s request, would have extended
recognition to all other states’ concealed handgun licenses, as long as
the individual licensee is at least 21 years old, not prohibited by
state or federal law from possessing a firearm, and (with limited
exceptions for new residents on a temporary basis and members of the
military stationed in other states) not a West Virginia resident.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation recognizing all other states’ concealed
carry licenses without any other conditions beyond those contained in
2008 SB
228
and HB
4683?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
2.
Current West Virginia law authorizes the Attorney General to enter into
concealed handgun license reciprocity agreements with states that meet
specific, statutory conditions of reciprocity. Based upon the current
implementation of the law and WVCDL’s research, only about half of the
states that are eligible for reciprocity with West Virginia and whose
reciprocity laws allow them to establish reciprocity with us, currently
have reciprocity with us.
Will you pledge to make the
expansion of concealed handgun license reciprocity to the maximum
number of eligible states under West Virginia’s current reciprocity law
a top priority for the Office of Attorney General?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
3.
In many states, the Attorney General has developed a publication
containing that state’s weapons and self-defense laws in their entirety
for the purpose of educating the public about these areas of the law.
Recently, the Attorney General published a booklet containing some of
West Virginia’s gun laws. In West Virginia, the law of self-defense is
all common law and, as such, is inaccessible to many citizens who are
neither knowledgeable of the case law research process nor able to
access a law library.
Will you pledge to regularly
publish and make available for public distribution in print and on the
Attorney General’s web site a thorough publication on West Virginia’s
weapons and self-defense laws that will enable ordinary citizens to
fully educate themselves on these important areas of the law?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
4.
In West Virginia, all records concerning individuals who have concealed
handgun licenses, including the names and home addresses of licensees,
are public records under the Freedom of Information Act and are open to
unfettered public access. Nearly 83,000 West Virginians currently have
concealed handgun licenses. Many newspapers regularly print lists of
individuals who are issued licenses, including former police and
corrections officers, victims of domestic violence, and other ordinary
citizens who merely want to be able to defend themselves from crime.
In 2007, a tremendous public uproar
ensued after the Roanoke
Times published on the Internet a searchable database of all concealed
handgun permits issued in Virginia, which showed permittees’ full home
street addresses to anyone who had Internet access. Although the
Roanoke Times quickly removed this database, many retired police
officers reported being visited at their homes by people they had
arrested in the past and victims of domestic violence who were hiding
from their abusive former spouses or partners reported similar home
visits. Furthermore, allowing public access to license lists provides
potential burglars veritable shopping lists of homes where they are
most likely to find not just one but several guns to steal; theft is a
leading source of guns for criminals who cannot legally possess
firearms.
At least 27 of the 36 states that
have nondiscretionary,
“shall-issue” concealed weapon licensing laws have closed public access
to records containing the names, addresses, or other
personally-identifying information of any applicant or licensee; access
to these records is limited to law-enforcement agencies, an individual
licensee who wishes to inspect his or her own license record, and when
required by a court order. In 2007, the House of Delegates passed a
bill to close public access to these records in West Virginia but the
bill failed to pass the Senate; in 2008, the same bill passed the House
Judiciary Committee with only one dissenting vote but died after being
removed from the House Special Calendar by the House leadership.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation closing public access to concealed
handgun license records and limiting access to these records to
law-enforcement agencies, an individual licensee with regard to his or
her own record, and when required by a court order?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
5.
Under current West Virginia law, an applicant for a concealed handgun
license must pay a total of $90 in fees for either a new license or to
renew an existing, expiring license. Licenses must be renewed once
every 5 years. Four of our surrounding states have similar,
nondiscretionary “shall-issue” licensing laws and all four also issue
licenses for 5-year terms (Maryland is the only surrounding state that
does not have a shall-issue law). The fees charged per license in our
surrounding states are $60 in Kentucky, $55 in Ohio, $50 maximum in
Virginia (each county and city may charge less and many do), and only
$25 in Pennsylvania. In 2008, at WVCDL’s request, a bill (SB
230) was introduced to reduce West Virginia’s license fee from $90
to $50.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation to reduce concealed handgun license
fees to conform to the prevailing fees of our surrounding states?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
6.
Under current West Virginia law, all concealed handgun licenses are
valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issue. WVCDL
supports changing the expiration and renewal cycle in two ways.
The first change would change the renewal cycle to mirror that of
driver’s licenses: every birthday evenly divisible by 5 with provisions
for calculating the appropriate expiration date and prorating licensing
fees for individuals who are transitioned into the system. This
change will allow sheriffs more even caseloads of renewal applications.
For licensees, this change will make the time to renew easy to remember
and encourage early renewals as licensees would no longer face the
conundrum of either paying duplicate fees for the period of time
between an early renewal date and the date on which the old license
expired or having a temporarily lapsed license if the renewal process
extends beyond the expiration date of the old license. The second
proposed change would provide for an automatic extension of licenses
issued to members of the military who are on deployment. Many
states are now adopting provisions in their expiration and renewal laws
for concealed handgun licenses that mirror existing provisions for
motor vehicle driver’s licenses by ensuring that service members do not
come home t an expired license and the inconvenience of applying as a
first-time applicant because their old license expired while the
licensee was overseas.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation replacing the 5-year renewal cycle of
concealed handgun licenses with an every fifth birthday renewal cycle?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation allowing automatic extensions of
concealed handgun licenses issued to members of the military on
deployment?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
7.
Current West Virginia law is silent on whether an applicant for a
concealed handgun license is required to submit an application for a
license in person at the sheriff’s office at the county courthouse. The
law requires all applications to be notarized (notary publics are
required by law to either personally know the affiant or verify an
affiant’s identity through photo identification). Current law
also requires all applicants to prove their identity and residency by
providing a copy of either a West Virginia driver’s license or
nondriver ID card issued by the DMV. All background checks are
conducted using an applicant’s name, date of birth, and other
identifying information contained in the application; West Virginia
does not fingerprint applicants. Current law is also silent on the
manner in which a license is to be delivered to a licensee upon being
issued. In many cases, this results in applicants, both initial and
renewal, having to make two trips to the courthouse. For many West
Virginians, even one trip involves a significant amount of time and
money, especially with current gas prices.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation clarifying that applications for
concealed handgun licenses must be accepted in person or by mail?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation requiring sheriffs to deliver granted
licenses by mail unless an applicant requests otherwise in writing in
the application?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
8.
Current West Virginia law provides that upon submission of an
application for a concealed handgun license, a sheriff “shall conduct
an investigation which shall verify that the information [submitted by
the applicant is] true and correct.” The law does not further
specify how this is to be accomplished. In general, sheriffs
check the State Police criminal records database and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation’s Interstate Identification Index to determine whether
the applicant may be disqualified from licensure under the statutory
licensing criteria.
WVCDL supports inserting a
provision requiring sheriffs to
examine the III, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database,
and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
This change would not burden sheriffs or applicants. However, it
would benefit licensees by qualifying West Virginia for reciprocity
with several states that have refused to establish reciprocity with us
because of their concerns about the vagueness of our background check
requirements. It would also give licensees another major benefit
by qualifying all licenses issued on or after the effective date of
this change as fulfilling the background check requirements under
federal law to purchase a gun from a licensed dealer without a
redundant NICS check at the time of the transaction. Many individuals
repeatedly suffer from needless delays caused by mistakes of identity
and inaccurate records. Presently, 18 states (including Kentucky) have
qualified for this exemption for their licensees (for a complete list
of states that issue NICS exempt licenses, see http://www.atf.gov/firearms/bradylaw/permit_chart.htm).
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation clarifying the procedures for criminal
background checks for concealed handgun licenses to allow West Virginia
the expanded reciprocity and NICS exemption for which many other states
now qualify?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
9.
Current West Virginia law requires an applicant for a concealed handgun
license to show proof of training and specifies how this requirement
may be fulfilled. The only specific requirement common to all the
alternatives through which this requirement may be fulfilled is that
the class must involve the handling and firing of a handgun; there are
no requirements pertaining to the types of information that must be
contained in a course, the number of hours of instruction that a course
must provide, or specific standards for proficiency in live fire
exercises. Nevertheless, most instructors who teach qualifying
classes provide extensive instruction on the care and use of firearms,
marksmanship, gun safety, and use of force laws. Any legislation
to increase the existing statutory training requirements would prove a
logistical nightmare (requiring nearly 83,000 current licensees who
became licensees over the nearly 20 years West Virginia has had a
shall-issue licensing law to take a new class at a time when
individuals in many parts of the state have difficulty finding
available courses locally under the existing system) and would be
strongly opposed by gun-rights organizations including WVCDL.
Several states, including Virginia
and Florida, have similar
training requirements to West Virginia but, in addition to the choices
allowed in West Virginia, also allow proof of current military service,
an honorable discharge, or proof of participation in competitive
shooting events to fulfill the training requirement. These sates
also provide that proof of having been previously licensed in the state
(unless the last license was revoked for cause and not reinstated)
fulfills this requirement for a former licensee who wishes to be
licensed again. Under current West Virginia law, proof of training does
not expire; the challenge for many individuals is keeping their
training certificate and constantly renewing their licenses, as a
renewal applicant (who has a current, valid license) is not required to
show a training certificate but a licensee whose license has expired
would be required to show the certificate to obtain a “new”
license. These aspects of West Virginia law require members of
the military, veterans, participants in competitive shooting events,
and individuals who have lost their training certificates and whose
licenses have expired to complete redundant classes, adding to the cost
of a license for these individuals and reducing available slots in some
classes.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation to add to the methods by which the
proof of training requirement in West Virginia’s concealed handgun
licensing law may be satisfied: (1) proof of current military service
or an honorable discharge, (2) proof of participation in competitive
shooting, and (3) having been previously licensed in West Virginia
unless the last license was revoked for cause and not reinstated?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
Will you OPPOSE and actively lobby
the Legislature AGAINST any legislation that would require current
licensees to take a new training course to renew their licenses?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
10.
Current West Virginia law requires a license to conceal a deadly weapon
“on or about” one’s person, meaning within easy access or reach. Among
those exempted from this requirement are property owners upon their own
premises. Current law also requires no license to carry a weapon in an
unconcealed manner.
At least 14 states (including
Kentucky) generally extend the
same right to carry without a license to a person in his or her own
vehicle as for the person’s home or place of business. Although a few
of these states limit this exception to a weapon in a glove box or
center console, most provide a complete exemption for car carry. These
figures do not include Alaska and Vermont, which respect the right to
carry both openly and concealed, in a vehicle or on foot, without a
license. Additionally, law-enforcement officers are trained to presume
that everyone they encounter may be armed until proven otherwise.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation to extend the property owner’s premises
exemption to West Virginia’s concealed weapon licensing law to private
vehicles?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
11.
West Virginia’s hunting laws contain several confusing and
contradictory regulations on the carrying of firearms in vehicles and
in wooded areas during the closed season (see West Virginia Code §
20-2-5(3), (8), (9), and (19)). Although these regulations are designed
primarily to combat poaching, they have been abused and applied against
individuals who were merely carrying a handgun for self-defense
purposes. For nearly 20 years, the weapons laws contained in West
Virginia’s criminal code have recognized an adult individual’s right to
open carry without a license and provided a nondiscretionary,
“shall-issue” system of issuing licenses for concealed
carry.
In 2002, the Legislature took a
partial step toward protecting
law-abiding gun owners from these abused by enacting West Virginia Code
§ 20-2-6a, which protects a person who is otherwise legally
carrying a concealed handgun from a misapplication of these
regulations. However, the law still leaves tremendous uncertainty over
how these regulations apply to open carry, which is necessary for many
visitors to West Virginia who do not reside in states that have
concealed handgun license reciprocity with us because of our
restrictive reciprocity law (see Question 1 above). In 2008, SB
319 was introduced at WVCDL’s request to revise the firearms
regulations contained in the hunting laws to only apply to long guns.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation to revise the firearms regulations
contained in West Virginia’s hunting laws to clarify that these
regulations do not apply to handguns?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
12.
Current West Virginia law prohibits anyone other than a law-enforcement
officer or a person authorized by the chief judge of the particular
court to possess any deadly weapon “on any premises which houses a
court of law.”
Several states, including
Pennsylvania, require courthouses to
provide on-site weapon storage by providing secure, self-service
lockers in which individuals entering a courthouse may store & lock
their gun while inside the courthouse (with a requirement that
alternative storage be provided by courthouse security personnel in
case of an overflow or an absence of the required lockers) and then
retrieve it when leaving. These laws protect individuals from the
potential danger the may face from assailants who would otherwise be
able to attack someone going between his or her car and a courthouse
because that person would be unarmed. These laws also prevent gun
thefts by reducing the likelihood a criminal would be able to get a gun
by burglarizing vehicles parked near courthouses—especially since
current law allows public access to lists of individuals who have
concealed handgun licenses.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR a bill to require all West Virginia courthouses to
install self-service weapon storage lockers at all courthouse public
entrances; require alternative secure, on-site weapon storage in cases
of overflow or an absence of the required lockers; and provide a
limited exception to the courthouse carry ban to facilitate these
storage arrangements?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
13.
Current West Virginia law generally preempts county and municipal gun
control ordinances. However, these laws have a grandfather clause that
allows municipal ordinances adopted prior to the enactment of the
preemption law to remain in effect. The City of Charleston has
grandfathered ordinances (1) rationing handgun purchase to one gun per
month and (2) prohibiting anyone, including a person with a concealed
handgun license who has completed the required training and background
checks required for that license, from carrying a weapon in any city
building or park.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation repealing the grandfather clause in
West Virginia’s local gun control preemption law?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
14.
All but two states have laws preempting firearm regulations. These laws
vary in scope by state. West Virginia’s preemption law applies only to
county and municipal ordinances. Many states have more comprehensive
preemption laws that extend to administrative actions and rules of
state and local agencies.
Current West Virginia law prohibits
weapons in schools, courthouses,
the State Capitol Complex, jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, and
juvenile detection centers. West Virginia law does not prohibit state
or local government agencies from imposing many restrictions on our
right to keep and bear arms for self-defense purposes, including
designating public buildings as “gun-free zones” where it would
otherwise be legal for a person to carry a gun for personal protection.
West Virginia law also does not prohibit the carrying or possession of
firearms on college and university property. However, many
colleges and universities have established policies prohibiting
students and staff from possessing or carrying firearms on campus.
Students risk expulsion and staff risk being fired if they violate
these policies.
Unfortunately, these “gun-free
zone” policies only disarm the
law-abiding who are then unable to provide for their own defense, as
seen in recent school massacres where such gun control was in effect.
As the tragedy at Virginia Tech
proved, the “I’m unarmed,
please don’t hurt me” approach is not an effective means of self
defense, especially when faced with a violent criminal determined to
kill. Unfortunately, the police can’t be everywhere all the time
and usually arrive after the crime to take a report from any survivors.
“Gun-free zones” amount to little more than criminal protection zones
that guarantee criminals protection from the possibility of
confrontation by an armed, law-abiding citizen who could defend himself
or herself, and instill a false sense of security in unsuspecting
members of the public.
At WVCDL’s request, bills were
introduced in 2007 (SB
715) and 2008 (SB
732) to eliminate these criminal protection zones on public
property. These bills would not have affected the rights of private
property owners, including private colleges—only public agencies owned
& controlled by, and accountable to, the people of West Virginia.
These bills were defeated, ensuring that criminals and murderers will
have the upper hand.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation that would prevent state colleges and
universities from penalizing students with concealed handgun licenses
from carrying on campus and prohibit state and local agencies from
enacting any additional restrictions on carrying on public property
where the Legislature has chosen to not prohibit weapons?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
15.
Recently, anti-gun New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg employed an army
of private detectives (who were not law-enforcement officers) to visit
gun dealers throughout the east coast and attempt to perform “straw”
firearm purchases, in which that private detective, being unable under
federal law to purchase a firearm from that dealer because of federal
laws restricting interstate gun purchases, employed another person to
complete a gun purchase. Most of these private detectives also
pretended to be unable to legally possess firearms for other reasons,
including criminal convictions these private detectives pretended to
have. These “straw” purchases are illegal and punishable as a felony
under federal law. However, federal officials refused to prosecute
anyone for this scheme.
Most of the
targeted dealers complied with strict federal laws
requiring extensive documentation of all firearm transfers, including
the verification of the identity, state of residence, and background of
the prospective purchaser. Nevertheless, New York City proceeded to sue
dozens of gun dealers from Pennsylvania to Georgia, driving many of
them out of business. In settlements with many of these dealers, New
York City got access to all records maintained by the dealers that
entered into settlements, allowing New York politicians to know every
gun purchase ever made from the dealers who settled. Although no West
Virginia gun dealers have apparently been targeted yet by this scheme,
West Virginia is close enough to New York City for our gun dealers to
be targeted by a similar scheme in the future.
In 2006,
Virginia passed a law duplicating federal law on
“straw” firearm purchases to give local prosecutors in Virginia the
ability to criminally prosecute straw purchasers at the state level to
protect law-abiding Virginia gun dealers from future straw purchase
entrapment schemes; this legislation specifically excluded legitimate
sting operations conducted by law-enforcement agencies acting within
their official jurisdiction. A bill to duplicate this Virginia law was
introduced at WVCDL’s request in 2007 as SB
648 and 2008 as SB
252. Similar legislation is pending in other states.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation to enact a state “straw” purchases law
in West Virginia?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
16.
In 2002, as part of a broader bill providing for enhanced security
measures at the State Capitol, the Legislature made it a crime for any
person other than a law-enforcement officer to bring a deadly weapon
onto State Capitol property. See W.Va. Code § 61-6-19(b). This
statute is poorly-written and could even be interpreted to apply to a
person who leaves his or her gun locked in a vehicle parked in one of
the many public parking lots that surround the State Capitol.
Laws and
policies on weapons at state capitols vary widely by
state. For example, Pennsylvania prohibits weapons inside its State
Capitol but provides storage lockers at one public entrance to allow
anyone carrying a gun to securely store it while inside the building
and be able to legally carry it while walking to and from their
vehicle. Virginia, on the other hand, allows anyone with a concealed
handgun permit to carry anywhere inside the Virginia State Capitol,
despite mandatory metal detector screenings at the public entrance and
substantial on-site security measures; visitors to the Virginia State
Capitol who have a concealed handgun permit display it at the security
station and are waved through the metal detector. The West Virginia
State Capitol has neither on-site weapon storage nor mandatory metal
detector screenings or other security measures to adequately protect
legislators, staff, other public officials, or visitors from criminals
who might exploit the State Capitol’s minimal security and well-known
status as a gun-free criminal protection zone. At WVCDL’s request,
bills were introduced in 2007 (SB
649) and 2008 (SB
136) to repeal the State Capitol weapons ban.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR legislation to repeal the State Capitol weapons ban
and restore the right of public officials, staff, and visitors to the
State Capitol to the means of self-defense?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
17.
West Virginia law generally bans the carrying of guns in both public
and private K-12 schools, except for the police. This ban infringes the
rights of law-abiding West Virginians and makes it almost certain that
children and school personnel would remain helpless in the face of a
Columbine type of attack by a deranged student or stranger who will
ignore the law against bringing a gun in the school. This ban also
creates the unnecessary danger and inconvenience of having to
frequently unload and then reload a gun before and after driving a
vehicle onto school property, as the existing law allows unloaded
firearms to be kept in vehicles driven or parked on school
property. Finally, this ban creates a confusing situation
regarding the legality of carrying at churches that operate religious
schools because of the uncertainty over what parts of a combined church
and school are considered a school where weapons are banned and what
parts are not a school and thus are not subject to the ban; likewise,
the treatment of a parking lot and exterior grounds of a combined
church/school is uncertain. Any violation of this statute is
punishable as a felony, which would result in a person becoming
prohibited by both federal and state law from possessing a firearm for
life.
Even the
draconian federal Gun Free School Zone Act
specifically exempts concealed handgun permit holders from its
restrictions and allows permit holders to carry their firearms into
classrooms. Moreover, the states of Alabama, California, Oregon, Rhode
Island, and Utah specifically and completely exempt individuals with
concealed weapon permits from their respective gun-free schools laws.
Delaware law provides for an enhancement of penalties for weapons
offenses occurring on school property but does not prohibit individuals
with concealed weapon permits from carrying in schools. New Hampshire
has no state law providing criminal penalties for possessing weapons on
school property (like every other state, however, New Hampshire law
provides for the expulsion of a student who brings a gun to school
equally enforces on and off school property other laws such as the
prohibition on carrying a concealed weapon without a license). In these
7 states, individuals who hold concealed weapon permits may legally
carry anywhere on school property. Many other states have less
generous, but favorable provisions for individuals licensed to carry
concealed weapons that either reduce the penalty for a violation from a
felony to a misdemeanor and/or allow the possession, carrying, and
storage of a loaded firearm in a vehicle driven or parked on school
property.
Will you SUPPORT and actively lobby
the Legislature FOR a bill to more closely conform school gun policy
with federal standards and existing state laws in more than half a
dozen other states by allowing concealed handgun licensees to carry a
gun while on school grounds?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
18.
Annually, a bill is introduced in the Legislature to ration firearms by
prohibiting a person from purchasing more than one handgun in any
30-day period. Similar laws exist in only three other states. These
laws have proven totally ineffective at reducing crime or trafficking
in guns to individuals who are prohibited by law from possessing
firearms and have to resort to illegal means of acquiring guns.
Existing federal law requires licensed dealers who sell more than one
handgun to any person in any 5-day period to file a multiple handgun
transaction report with federal, state, and local law-enforcement
agencies. “One-gun-per-month” and similar gun rationing laws also
prevent crime victims from quickly replacing stolen guns and prevent
collectors of firearms from acquiring certain sets of guns (such as a
matched set of antique dueling pistols or some other gun collection
that has particular value as a complete set). The first state to adopt
a one-handgun-per-month gun rationing law has since repealed it.
Will you OPPOSE and actively lobby
the Legislature AGAINST any bill to limit the number of firearms any
person can own or acquire at any one time or impose any waiting period
between multiple firearm acquisitions?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
19.
Most firearms experts recognize that mechanical devices, such as
trigger locks, create an extremely dangerous condition, whereby a gun
can be fired accidentally. These dangerous “lock up your safety”
devices may render a handgun ineffective when most needed and leave an
individual or family defenseless and vulnerable to attack.
Additionally, trigger locks create a false sense of security similar to
that created when child safety caps were mandated which resulted in a
significant increase in child poisonings when parents came to rely on
the “safety” caps rather than education to protect their children.
Will you OPPOSE and actively lobby
the Legislature AGAINST government mandated use of trigger locks or
other such hazardous “safety” devices which have the effect of making
it difficult, if not impossible, to have a gun readily available to
defend your home and family?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
20.
Most experts agree that “ballistic fingerprinting” is not a valid
fingerprinting of firearms but rather just a snapshot in time because
the markings on the shell and bullets change over time with use, parts
replacement, and/or intentional modifications. Two studies done
for the California Department of Justice concluded that ballistic
fingerprinting is not a viable methodology. Most recently, a
Maryland State Police report on Maryland’s ballistic fingerprinting
program called it expensive and ineffective. In addition, the
head of the Maryland State Police testified before a Maryland House of
Delegates committee that Maryland’s mandate to collect ballistics
information hasn't helped solve any crimes.
Will you OPPOSE and actively lobby
the Legislature AGAINST any legislation designed to impose these
useless “feel good” ballistic fingerprinting schemes in West Virginia?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
21.
Gun control advocates have made a concerted effort to demonize gun
shows as a place where criminals have ready access to firearms.
However, according to a 2001 U.S. Department of Justice report, only
0.7% of criminals got their guns from gun shows.
Existing
federal laws require all persons engaged in the
business of dealing firearms to be licensed and closely monitored by
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
The ATF maintains strict control over all federally-licensed firearm
dealers are required to ensure that all their firearm transfers are
approved by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
whether the transfer is consummated at a gun show or at the dealer’s
place of business.
The terms “gun
show loophole” and “unlicensed gun dealer” have
been fabricated to mislead the public into believing that gun shows
permit gun transfers that would be forbidden anywhere else. There
is nothing that can be done legally at a gun show that cannot also be
done legally outside of a gun show.
Closing the imaginary “gun show
loophole” is just the first
step in a campaign to criminalize all non-dealer private gun transfers.
Will you OPPOSE and actively lobby
the Legislature AGAINST any legislation designed to ban non-dealer
private gun transfers (whether at gun shows or outside of gun shows)?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
22.
Semi-automatic firearms (which discharge only one shot with each pull
of the trigger) have been owned and used by law-abiding citizens for
over a century. Fully-automatic firearms (which discharge more than one
shot with each pull of the trigger), short-barreled rifles,
short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and certain “destructive devices”
are federally registered, taxed, and much more closely regulated than
other types or classes of firearms. Pistol and rifle ammunition
magazines are plastic or metal boxes containing a spring that feed
ammunition cartridges into a semi-automatic firearm.
Gun control
advocates have attempted to ban various classes of
firearms based on their cosmetic appearance, prohibit various classes
of firearms based on the caliber of bullet the gun is capable of
firing, ban ammunition magazines capable of holding more than a certain
number of ammunition cartridges (including many of the most common
pistol magazines currently in widespread use), limit the types of
metals that may be used in ammunition (such as banning lead in
ammunition), which would dramatically increase expenses of
law-enforcement agencies, competitive target shooters, hunters, and
every other gun owner.
Will you OPPOSE and actively lobby
the Legislature AGAINST ANY and ALL gun bans?
- McGraw: awaiting response
- Greear: YES
23. Occasionally, state
attorneys general intervene in important litigation
of significant consequence by participating in amicus curiae briefs lending the
support of their respective states to one side or another in certain
cases. Last year, incumbent Attorney General Darrell McGraw signed on
behalf of the State of West Virginia an amicus curiae brief of 31 states
(including all surrounding states except Maryland) in opposition to
Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban in the case of D.C. v. Heller (Docket No. 07-290),
on which the Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments and will
render a decision in the coming months. The attorneys general of
several other states, including Maryland, signed an opposing amicus brief supporting the D.C.
handgun ban. All briefs submitted to the Supreme Court in Heller are available online at http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/march08.shtml#district
Challengers: If you were the
current Attorney General, would you have signed this amicus brief on behalf of the State
of West Virginia?
- McGraw: not applicable
- Greear: YES
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