Handgun Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Man Cited After Gun Found in Bag at Yeager Airport

Yeager Airport police cited a Logan County man after a loaded handgun was discovered in a carry-on bag.

The Transportation Security Administration says a TSA officer staffing an X-ray machine at the airport’s checkpoint detected the .38-caliber semiautomatic handgun on Saturday as the bag passed along a conveyor belt.

The man told officers that he forgot he had the gun, which was loaded with five bullets.

The TSA says in a news release that the Chapmanville resident was cited by airport police on a state weapons charge. Airport police also took possession of the gun.

West Virginia Recognizes Nebraska Concealed Carry Permits

Citizens from 31 other states can now carry concealed handguns in West Virginia as the state adds to its reciprocity list.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced the addition of a reciprocity agreement with Nebraska today. The state becomes the seventh added since July of last year.

Under the agreement, each state will honor a valid concealed carry permit issued by the other. Morrisey says Nebraska already recognized concealed handgun licenses issued by West Virginia.

Five additional states honor West Virginia permits, but concealed carry licenses issued by those states are not currently recognized by West Virginia. They include Vermont, Indiana, Wisconsin, Montana and Nevada.

New W.Va. Law Could Let Some Criminals Buy Guns

A new law that makes it easier for West Virginians to buy a handgun also makes it easier for some people who have recently committed a crime to buy a gun.

The law allows anyone who obtains a new concealed weapons permit to buy a gun without undergoing a federal background check. A check is required to get the permit, so supporters of the change say a second check is redundant.

But permits are good for five years, so anyone later convicted of a crime that should bar a gun purchase can still buy one by showing the permit to the dealer.

The permit is supposed to be revoked if someone becomes ineligible to buy a gun, but The Charleston Gazette reports there’s no effective mechanism for enforcement.