H. B. 2288


(By Delegate Louisos)

[Introduced January 30, 1995; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]





A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crimes and their punishment; dangerous weapons; and making it a felony for a person previously convicted of a felony to possess a firearm.

 Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.

§61-7-7. Persons prohibited from possession of deadly weapons.

Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, no person who: (1) Has been convicted of a felony in this state or in any other jurisdiction; (2) has been discharged under less than honorable conditions from the armed forces of the United States; (3) has been adjudicated as a mental incompetent or has been committed involuntarily to a mental institution; (4) is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or (5) is addicted to alcohol, a controlled substance or a drug, or is an unlawful user thereof shall have in his or her possession any firearm or other deadly weapon: Provided, That any person prohibited from possessing a firearm or other deadly weapon by the provisions of this section may petition the circuit court of the county in which he or she resides and if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that such person is competent and capable of exercising the responsibility concomitant with the possession of a firearm or other deadly weapon the court may enter an order allowing such person to possess such weapon if such it would not violate any federal statute.
Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or confined in the county jail for not less than ninety days nor more than one year, or both: Provided, That if the person who violates the provisions of this section has been convicted of a felony in this state or in any other jurisdiction, then that person is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make the penalty for possessing a firearm for a convicted felon a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.