I have my CC permit, and normally carry all the time. Today I had to be on school property here in WV, so to eliminate any possible issues, I did not take my firearm with me.
Is it legal to have and leave my gun in the truck, unloaded and cased, while my truck is parked on school property? I'm ok with not being able to have it on my person at the school, but don't want to have to leave it at the house an hour away, and not be able to have it with me everywhere else I would go on the trip.
Any guidelines? What are the rules at the state level?
As a matter of STATE law,
W.Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b)(2)(C) provides an exemption from the STATE law to any person who "possesses an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a motor vehicle, or leaves an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a locked motor vehicle[.]" Thus, as long as your gun is unloaded at all times your vehicle is on school property, there is no violation of state law.
The FEDERAL law is different. A person with a WV CHL is completely exempt from
18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2) within the State of West Virginia; it is solely because of STATE law that a WV CHL holder cannot carry without restriction on school property in West Virginia. However, if you do not have a CHL issued within the state in which the school zone is located, the federal law requires that, in addition to being unloaded, any firearm possessed or stored within a vehicle be in a locked container or a locked gun rack (not a requirement under West Virginia state law).
To recap, a WV CHL holder is completely exempt from the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act within the State of West Virginia under
18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(B)(ii). However, because of
W.Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b), we cannot legally possess a firearm on school property at any time with the very narrow exceptions stated in
W.Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b)(2). If the Legislature ever amended the law (as was proposed this year in
HB 3125 and
SB 543) to give CHL holders the same exemption under state law as we already have under the federal law, we could join our friends in
Alabama,
California,
Delaware, New Hampshire,
Oregon, and Utah (links:
part 1 |
part 2) who can legally carry in school property without restriction with a license. Additionally, in
Missouri, the possession of a concealed firearm on school property by a person with a CCW endorsement is not a criminal act but may subject the person to denial to the premises or removal from the premises (licensed individuals are completely exempt from
Missouri's general prohibition on carrying on school property); if the person refuses to leave when asked, the offense is a noncriminal offense punishable only by a fine of not more than $100 for a first offense.