Westover, WV not open carry legal?

I talked to a LT. from the Westover police tonight that informed that you are not legally allowed to open carry in Westover, WV.

Anyone heard of this?

Mykal_ said:

I talked to a LT. from the Westover police tonight that informed that you are not legally allowed to open carry in Westover, WV.

Anyone heard of this?

Click to expand...

hmmmm, never have I heard of that. Ill get right back to ya on that, I find it hard to believe. what was the officers name?? Im not buying it...as I know there are two cities in WV that have ordinances against open carry....charleston, and ummmmm I think Martinsburg......Ill get to the bottom of it today.

Just called Westover PD...his exact words were. **** no...that isnt true! Who told you that??? So your good to go in the wonderful metropolis of Westover...

I planned on calling back as well today to double check. So I did. I just called and spoke to Lt. Shane who said that it would be news to him if that were true. He said he would double check the law and call me back today to be sure. Ill update when he does.

Last night I spoke to Lt. Livengood. She was the Shift Lt. on duty last night.

I dont live in Westover, but I have to drive through it every day when going to work. I usually stop at the gas station daily before hitting the interstate. Normally I try to avoid Westover at all costs. Ive had quite a few bad experiences with their P.D. and not knowing the law on more then one occasion. All have been unrelated to hand guns up until this point.

feeldasteel said:

hmmmm, never have I heard of that. Ill get right back to ya on that, I find it hard to believe. what was the officers name?? Im not buying it...as I know there are two cities in WV that have ordinances against open carry....charleston, and ummmmm I think Martinsburg......Ill get to the bottom of it today.

Click to expand...

I used to live in MArtinsburg, and have some good friends who live there (and an ex-girlfriend who is a City Ofiicial), so I've stayed up on the whole Martinsburg situation...

Martinsburg TRIED to pass an ordinance that prohibited OC on ALL city property (whick would include streets and sidewalks) but it was shot down by a ruing from the State AG.

Martinsburg changed the statute to now say you can't carry in city-owned BUILDINGS.

OC is perfectly legal in Martinsburg, as long as you don't do it INSIDE a government building.

WV has state preemption, and so according to State law, NO municipality, county, or local government may restrict the ownership, transport, or carrying of a firearm more strictly than the state laws...

thanks for the clerification on that...appreciate it.

feeldasteel said:

hmmmm, never have I heard of that. Ill get right back to ya on that, I find it hard to believe. what was the officers name?? Im not buying it...as I know there are two cities in WV that have ordinances against open carry....charleston, and ummmmm I think Martinsburg......Ill get to the bottom of it today.

Click to expand...

It's Charleston and Dunbar that are the only 2 cities in the state that were Pre-empted into the laws.

diensthunds said:

It's Charleston and Dunbar that are the only 2 cities in the state that were Pre-empted into the laws.

Click to expand...

Actually, local ordinances in Charleston, Dunbar, and South Charleston were grandfathered under preemption, as they were in effect on June 1, 1999.

I wish people would stop using the word, "pre-emption" to describe this situation. Pre-emption applies when two otherwise equal governments (e.g., the United States and West Virginia) try to regulate the same thing. One of the two will pre-empt the other, depending on the balance of power stated by the Constitution. In this case, there is no pre-emption, since a municipal corporation is a creation of the state, not an equal government. As a creature, it can do only that which its creator allows by charter or by general law. Same as any other corporate entity created under state law. Municipal corporations can include universities, counties, cities, towns, etc. There is no "grandfathering", either. If the localities have the power to regulate gun ownership, use, or possession, it would have to be either by charter or by general law. Municipal corporations have no rights with regard to ex-post-facto laws (the source of that "grandfathering" idea).