H. B. 2427
(By Delegates Howell, Ireland, Storch, Hamilton, Rowan,
and Kump)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §47-26-1, relating
to regulation of firearms, firearms accessories and
ammunition.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §47-26-1, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 26. WEST VIRGINIA FIREARMS FREEDOM ACT.
§47-26-1. Exemption of firearms, a firearm accessory or ammunition
manufactured and retained in West Virginia, from
federal regulation under the Commerce Clause of the
Constitution of the United States.
_____(a) Short title. -- This article may be cited as the "West
Virginia Firearms Freedom Act".
_____(b) Legislative declarations of authority. -- The Legislature declares that the authority for this section is as follows:
_____(1) The tenth amendment to the United States Constitution
guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted to
the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution and reserves
to the state and people of West Virginia certain powers as they
were understood at the time that West Virginia was admitted to
statehood in 1863. The guaranty of those powers is a matter of
contract between the state and people of West Virginia and the
United States as of the time that the compact with the United
States was agreed upon and adopted by West Virginia and the United
States in 1863._____
_____(2) The ninth amendment to the United States Constitution
guarantees to the people rights not granted in the Constitution and
reserves to the people of West Virginia certain rights as they were
understood at the time that West Virginia was admitted to statehood
in 1863. The guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract
between the state and people of West Virginia and the United States
as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed
upon and adopted by West Virginia and the United States in 1863.
_____(3) The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the
states under the ninth and tenth amendments to the United States
Constitution.
_____(4) Article I, section two, of the West Virginia Constitution,
states that "the government of the United States is a government of enumerated powers, and all powers not delegated to it, nor
inhibited to the states, are reserved to the states or to the
people thereof." Specifically enumerated among those "powers so
reserved to the states is the exclusive regulation of their own
internal government and police; and it is the high and solemn duty
of the several departments of government, created by this
Constitution, to guard and protect the people of this state from
all encroachments upon the rights so reserved."
_____(5) The second amendment to the United States Constitution
reserves to the people the right to keep and bear arms as that
right was understood at the time that West Virginia was admitted to
statehood in 1863, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of
contract between the state and people of West Virginia and the
United States as of the time that the compact with the United
States was agreed upon and adopted by West Virginia and the United
States in 1863.
_____(6) Article III, section twenty-two, of the West Virginia
Constitution clearly secures to West Virginia citizens, and
prohibits government interference with, the right of individual
West Virginia citizens to keep and bear arms.
_____(c) Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, the following
definitions apply:
_____(1) "Borders of West Virginia" means the boundaries of West
Virginia described in Article II, section one, of the 1872 West Virginia Constitution.
_____(2) "Firearms accessories" means items that are used in
conjunction with or mounted upon a firearm but are not essential to
the basic function of a firearm, including, but not limited to,
telescopic or laser sights, magazines, flash or sound suppressors,
folding or aftermarket stocks and grips, speedloaders, ammunition
carriers, and lights for target illumination.
_____(3) "Generic and insignificant parts" includes, but is not
limited to, springs, screws, nuts and pins.
_____(4) "Manufactured" means that a firearm, a firearm accessory,
or ammunition has been created from basic materials for functional
usefulness, including, but not limited to, forging, casting,
machining, or other processes for working materials; or assembled
into a complete functional device from component parts.
_____(d) Prohibitions. -- A personal firearm, a firearm accessory,
or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in
West Virginia and that remains within the borders of West Virginia
is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including
registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate
interstate commerce. It is declared by the Legislature that those
items have not traveled in interstate commerce. This section
applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is
manufactured in West Virginia from basic materials and that can be
manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state. Generic and insignificant parts that
have other manufacturing or consumer product applications are not
firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition, and their
importation into West Virginia and incorporation into a firearm, a
firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in West Virginia does
not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to
federal regulation. It is declared by the Legislature that basic
materials, such as unmachined steel and unshaped wood, are not
firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition and are not subject
to congressional authority to regulate firearms, firearms
accessories, and ammunition under interstate commerce as if they
were actually firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition. The
authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic
materials does not include authority to regulate firearms, firearms
accessories, and ammunition made in West Virginia from those
materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into West
Virginia from another state and that are subject to federal
regulation as being in interstate commerce do not subject a firearm
to federal regulation under interstate commerce because they are
attached to or used in conjunction with a firearm in West Virginia.
_____(e) Exceptions. -- Section (d) does not apply to:
_____(1) A firearm that cannot be carried and used by one person;
_____(2) A firearm that has a bore diameter greater than one and
one-half inches and that uses smokeless powder, not black powder, as a propellant;
_____(3) Ammunition with a projectile that explodes using an
explosion of chemical energy after the projectile leaves the
firearm; or
_____(4) Excepting shotguns, a firearm that discharges two or more
projectiles with one activation of the trigger or other firing
device.
_____(f) Marketing of firearms. -- A firearm manufactured in West
Virginia under the provisions of this section must have the words
"Made in West Virginia" clearly stamped on a central metallic part,
such as the receiver or frame.
_____
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt firearms,
firearms accessories and ammunition from federal regulation if it
is sold and maintained in the State of West Virginia.
This article is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.