imported post
NavyLT wrote:
There are no additional restrictions or requirements for vehicle carry in West Virginia. The only prohibition is carrying a concealed weapon on or about the body. Therefore, looks like you can have the handgun anywhere, anyway that you desire in the vehicle, so long as it is not concealed upon the person:
This is simply NOT true...
If you read the statute closer, it says concealed on or about the person. "About the person" means within easy access. That would be anywhere in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, or anywhere in a vehicle where any passengers or the driver could easily have access to it. Under your seat would be "concealed". In the glovebox is definitely "concealed". In the back seat under a coat is "concealed".
Article 7. Dangerous Weapons
61-7-2. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: …
(10) "Concealed" means hidden from ordinary observation so as to prevent disclosure or recognition. A deadly weapon is concealed when it is carried on or about the person in such a manner that another person in the ordinary course of events would not be placed on notice that the deadly weapon was being carried.
So, if you don't have a Concealed Carry permit, the only way you can legally carry in your car, and be absolutely SURE you won't be hassled by LEO's is if it's in your trunk, or in a locked box. Of course this also varies state by state, but "locked in the trunk" is protected by the "Safe Passage" provision of the Federal Firearms Owner's Protection Act (FOPA).
The best thing to do is just get a Concealed Carry Permit. That just makes carrying while travelling in a vehicle a LOT simpler, and it ALSO gives you a LOT more legal coverage in other states too...