Firearms Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

House Approves Bill To Arm W.Va. School Teachers

On this episode of The Legislature Today, there was contentious third reading debate in the House of Delegates over the much talked about bill to arm teachers as concealed carry protection officers.

Updated on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 at 10:14 a.m.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, there was contentious third reading debate in the House of Delegates over the much talked about bill to arm teachers as concealed carry protection officers. Randy Yohe has the latest on House Bill 4299.

In the Senate, the chamber had one of its busier days as official deadlines draw closer. Next Wednesday is Crossover Day, meaning that all bills have to be out of their chamber of origin to have a chance of becoming law. Briana Heaney has more.

Also, the Senate Government Organization Committee advanced a bill that would promote Randall Reid-Smith, the curator of the Department of Arts, Culture and History, to a cabinet secretary. The committee approved Senate Bill 865, which now goes to the full chamber. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is part of the Department of Arts, Culture and History.

A health facility would not need to obtain a certificate of need to operate in West Virginia if a certain House bill becomes law. Emily Rice has more.

Special education educators, students and their families gathered at the Capitol to advocate for more support in their classrooms. Chris Schulz has the story.

And, on History Day at the Capitol, the rotunda is sent back in time. It becomes a place of living history, where the lives and lessons from our state’s past become touchstones for the present and future. Randy Yohe has the story.

Finally, women’s health has been a popular topic in the Senate this year. Many bills and amendments have been introduced that focus on women’s health policy. Briana Heaney speaks with Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, and Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, about women’s health in the state and legislation that affects women.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Lawmakers Discuss Bill Allowing Teachers In W.Va. To Carry Firearms In Classrooms

On this episode of The Legislature Today, small and rural schools in West Virginia find it difficult to staff school resource officers and other security personnel, but a bill now making its way through the House of Delegates would allow teachers and other school staff to carry a firearm or other weapon on school grounds. Chris Schulz spoke with Del. Elliot Pritt, R-Fayette, and Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, for their perspective.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, in the midst of school shootings like Park View, Sandy Hook and Uvalde, school safety continues to be a pressing issue across the country.

In West Virginia, small and rural schools find it difficult to staff school resource officers and other security personnel, but a bill now making its way through the House of Delegates would allow teachers and other school staff to carry a firearm or other weapon on school grounds. Chris Schulz spoke with Del. Elliot Pritt, R-Fayette, and Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, for their perspective.

In the House, along with 13 bills on third reading, several resolutions were passed, and tributes were read honoring fallen West Virginia combat veterans.

In the Senate, the chamber addressed keeping West Virginia safer online. The chamber approved bills addressing ways that AI (artificial intelligence) could be used to sexually exploit children on the internet and protect the personal information of people online. Briana Heaney has more.

Also, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Monday afternoon considered an idea as old as the nation’s founding: Creating a currency backed by gold and silver. Curtis Tate has that story.

The House and Senate Education committees started the week off by considering changes to homeschooling requirements, as well as sports outside the school. Chris Schulz has more.

Finally, West Virginia’s senior citizens took center stage this Tuesday for AARP Day at the Capitol. There is a core group of statewide AARP leaders who lobby for certain legislation just about every day of every regular session – and 2024 is no different.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Teachers Could Carry Guns In W.Va. Classrooms Under Bill

A bill under discussion in the West Virginia House of Delegates would allow teachers to carry guns on school property if they complete a state-mandated training.

Teachers could soon be authorized to carry firearms in West Virginia classrooms, provided that they complete state-mandated training.

The House Judiciary Committee reviewed House Bill 4299 on Wednesday. The bill would create a position in schools known as a school protection officer.

The position would be a secondary role available to any school administrator, support personnel or elementary or secondary school teacher. These individuals would have to complete security and firearm safety training and could then receive authorization to bring a gun to school.

The bill received majority support from committee members, but only after more than an hour of impassioned debate.

Proponents of the bill said it would provide immediate support to school staff when students face the risk of an active shooter.

Under the bill, “we won’t have teachers, as in one instance, laying her body over top of her students,” said Del. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, who sponsored the bill.

“Instead, she will have something to defend herself,” she said. “That’s why I’m a sponsor of this bill.”

Kimble also said it reaffirmed the state’s concealed carry law, which allows residents over age 21 to carry a firearm in public without a license.

Currently, West Virginia residents including teachers are prohibited from bringing guns onto school property, regardless of whether they have a permit for it.

Under the bill, teachers would be required to keep their firearm within their “personal control while that firearm or device is on school property.”

Critics of the bill, however, expressed doubts that increasing the number of guns in West Virginia schools would reduce gun-related injuries or deaths.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, noted that the bill would create a new armed position in addition to other armed roles like prevention resource officers and school resource officers.

He added that another pending bill, House Bill 4851, would allow school security officers to carry firearms on school property.

“So, there’ll be four different types of people with guns in the schools?” he asked.

Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, expressed concern over a potential limit on training for school protection officers in the bill. The text of the bill states that school protection officers must complete “initial instruction and training that shall not exceed 24 hours.”

Also during the meeting, Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, proposed an amendment to the bill that would have required school districts to designate an eligible school employee to serve as a school protection officer.

Counsel and committee members expressed concern that this would contradict the voluntary nature of the position, as established under the bill. Ultimately, Foster withdrew his amendment.

After extensive debate, a majority of committee members voted in favor of the bill, sending it to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.

W.Va. Universities, Colleges Preparing For Campus Carry Law

After years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session.

After years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session. The new law authorized the concealed carry of firearms in certain areas of college and university campuses. It takes effect July 1, 2024.

West Virginia’s institutions of higher education largely opposed campus carry. Campus leaders at big and small schools said they’ll need that much time to prepare.

Marshall University’s enrollment is a little more than 13,000. In the Eastern Panhandle, Shepherd University has just over 3,000 students. Both schools have campus carry committees and task forces that include administration, faculty, staff and students. Marshall Director of Public Safety Jim Terry said there are a wide variety of policy decisions on the table.

“We have a small group of senior leadership,” Terry said. “We’ve put together an action learning team made up of constituents from every facet of the university to go out and look at best practice, best policy.”

Holly Morgan Frye, vice president for Student Affairs, and the director of Community Relations at Shepherd University, said her school’s campus carry task force also includes attorneys and members of the residence life team.

Both schools now allow no firearms on campus. SB10 will permit concealed carry in classrooms and public areas, but not in stadiums and day care facilities. Frye said Shepherd’s key concern highlights student mental health and suicide issues.

“Everybody knows that the mental health issues on a college campus are on an increase,” Frye said. “We are getting ready to hire a fourth counselor. We have an enrollment of a little more than 3,000, and we feel that it’s critical that we have that fourth counselor because of the mental health issues.”

Marshall senior Abbey McBrayer said the chilling, anxious effect of COVID-19 still lingers on campus. She said campus carry could make it worse.

“A lot of people my age still feel uncomfortable being out on campus and going to like classrooms and things like that,” McBrayer said. “I think knowing that somebody could just have a gun in a classroom is kind of going to add to that. And then I mean, our counseling services are already kind of bogged down.”

Frye said she worries whether campus carry will affect enrollment for border schools like Shepherd. She believes the costs of ensuring campus safety will demand a larger police force.

Terry said the initial estimate for Marshall’s firearm security could reach $400,000, while Frye said the Shepherd cost could be several times that. Both point to residence halls, where guns are not allowed in dorm rooms, but are allowed in lunch rooms and lounges.

“I think that we’re going to have to be providing safes in order for any of our residential students who choose to carry to be able to lock those guns away when they are in their residential rooms,” Frye said. “We have already heard from our residential assistants with concerns about how they will manage that. For example, what will they do if they see somebody who has a gun? What will be the process?”

Terry said the school will have to create a new firearms policy when secondary school age visitors use campus facilities and with campus buildings jointly owned by public and private entities. He said there are no provisions in the law made for violation of campus carry policies, civil or criminal.

“We’re going to have to get with the county prosecutor,” Terry said. “There are no criminal statutes and there are no penalties attached to that code. If a person sees half a holster sticking out from underneath a jacket, and they call it in, he’s not violated the law. But we have nothing in place for a shirt raising up or something like that.”

Marshall freshman Jonathan Willman agreed with all the safeguards and security measures needed. However, he sees campus carry as a defensive necessity.

“I plan to carry myself when I get my concealed carry license,” Willman said. “We aren’t the people you have to worry about, it’s the people that break the laws. The bill allows kids to be able to defend themselves from people like that, who are already breaking the law and shooting up schools and campuses.”

W.Va. Higher Education Institutions Prepare For Campus Carry Law, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, after years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session. The new law authorized the concealed carry of firearms in certain areas of college and university campuses.

On this West Virginia Morning, after years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session. The new law authorized the concealed carry of firearms in certain areas of college and university campuses.

West Virginia’s institutions of higher education largely opposed campus carry. As Randy Yohe shows us, campus leaders at big and small schools say they’ll need all year and a quarter to prepare before SB 10 becomes law.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Our News Director Eric Douglas produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Justice Signs Senate Bill 10, The Campus Carry Act

Proponents say this law strengthens Second Amendment protections in West Virginia. But SB10 comes with many questions about implementation and concerns about the limitations on the new self-defense safeguards coming into place.

Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 10, The Campus Self-Defense Act, into law on Wednesday.

The new law authorizes the carrying of concealed pistols or revolvers under certain circumstances and in certain areas on the grounds of an institution of higher education. It prohibits firearms in numerous campus settings including stadiums, on-campus daycare, individual office settings, disciplinary hearings, and dormitory rooms, with concealed carry allowed in dorm public rooms like study halls and lounges

National Rifle Association State Legislative Action Director Art Thomm was the bill signing event host, delivering a very pointed introduction.

“This is a big day not only for West Virginians, but for law-abiding gun owners across the country who may choose West Virginia for employment or higher education,” Thomm said. “Threats to personal safety don’t disappear once you step on campus. Criminals do not abide by gun free zones. We have the most pro-gun governor West Virginia has seen in a very long time.”

West Virginia Citizens Defense league members also packed the room. The governor told them he hoped this would not be the only answer to solving the campus shooting crisis.

“But absolutely, without a question when that situation happens, if we have gun-free areas, to where there’s no way we can defend ourselves, then it seems like those are the targets that are targeted many, many, many times,” Justice said.

Two of the 88 republicans in the House voted against Senate Bill 10, Speaker Roger Hanshaw and Del. Erikka Storch, R-Ohio. Storch said she made her decision by listening to her constituents and her family.

“I have a 25, 23 and 17 year old and like I said, it was really outreach from my constituents. Nobody really thought it was going to do anything to advance the state,” Storch said. “I don’t think people are looking at West Virginia for their higher education opportunities on the basis of if they can bring guns, if they can’t bring guns, it just seems unnecessary. And we’re just, I don’t want to say necessarily catering to the gun lobby but that was another issue that they wanted to get across the finish line.”

Following the signing, West Virginia University President Gordon Gee, one of many state campus leaders opposed to campus carry, said in a statement he will create a new Campus Safety Group which will make recommendations relating to overall campus safety.

“I know this legislation leaves many feeling uncomfortable and brings forward many questions. Some may be unsure of their safety and well-being. Others may feel relief. We all have several questions as to how this will be implemented on our campuses,” Gee said in the statement. “We have opposed this type of legislation many times in recent years, firmly believing that local control is the best path forward. We reiterated this to lawmakers on multiple occasions again this year. However, now that this bill has been signed into law, we must come together as a community and work through the implications as it relates to the overall safety of our campuses.”

Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, said there will be a need to increase monitoring and counseling on campuses, given concerns over mounting student mental health and suicide issues.

“They’re going to have to figure out ways and get resources which they might have to come to us for, for mental health,” Hornbuckle said. “Making sure that we are protecting each and every student, and we’re addressing things before they ever get to a tragic standpoint.”

Testimony in committee and on the House floor noted it would cost WVU about $300,000 to fund campus carry security requirements even more for smaller colleges and universities. Storch said there was no funding in the bill.

“We’re not increasing their budget line items to give them any more money to deal with, to keep out of the safe places where guns aren’t permitted, to come up with the devices for them to secure them in their dorm rooms,” Storch said.

Just before putting pen to paper, Justice said the Campus Self-Defense Act evens a potentially deadly playing field.

“Does anybody here not think that has a brain in your head, that just because we don’t have this campus carry, that people can’t bring guns on our campuses,” Justice said. “I mean, for crying out loud, the doors are wide open. This is just saying the law-abiding people have a right to be able to carry if they choose to do so.”

West Virginia joins 11 states in allowing campus carry. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2024.