Senators approved a bill Friday that could make West Virginia the sixth state to allow residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.
After reading aloud from the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, senators voted 32-2 for a bill (SB347) that allows people 18 and older to tote concealed guns.
The bill eliminates the crime of carrying a concealed weapon in West Virginia, said Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan.
The legislation next goes to the House of Delegates.
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Vermont and Wyoming are the only states that allow residents to carry a hidden gun without a permit.
West Virginia already allows open carry of a handgun without a permit.
West Virginia law enforcement officials have expressed concern about the bill. They said the legislation could put officers more at risk. They also noted that the weapons-permit fees generate funds for sheriffs departments across the state. Last year, the permits raised $3.4 million for the departments.
However, senators who supported the bill kept coming back to the Second Amendment.
This is a United States constitutional right, said Robert Karnes, R-Upshur. The Second Amendment recognizes this inherent right.
Sens. Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, and Ron Miller, D-Greenbrier, voted against the bill.
Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, supported the concealed-carry permit repeal, but first offered what he called common-sense revisions that his colleagues ultimately rejected.
Romano wanted to require that residents be at least 21 years old before they could carry a handgun without a permit.
To carry a .357 Magnum, we really should require them to be 21 years of age, Romano said.
But other senators said a 21-and-up age limit was arbitrary.
At the age of 18, were talking about parents of small children, Karnes said. And were going to say an 18-year-old who is able to enter into the contract of marriage, to have children, is not responsible enough to defend the family that he has?
Romano also wanted to require people to take a handgun safety course before they could carry a concealed weapon. Karnes argued that the training requirement was a backdoor licensing scheme, and senators voted down the amendment.
Romano later voted for the bill that didnt include any of his suggested changes.
I concluded long ago that the permitting process through the sheriffs department is simply a hurdle for law-abiding citizens who carry a gun, Romano said. Criminals will carry a gun regardless of the process.