Senate Bill No. 499

(By Senator Sprouse, Bowman and Minear)

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[Introduced February 15, 2000; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article sixteen, relating to declaring that lawful design, marketing, manufacture or sale of firearms or ammunition to the public is not an unreasonably dangerous activity; and providing that the right to institute suits against firearms manufacturers, dealers or sellers is the strict prerogative of the state.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article sixteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS REGARDING FIREARMS MANUFACTURE AND SALE.

§55-16-1. Legislative declarations and purpose.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares:
(1) The lawful design, marketing, manufacture or sale of firearms or ammunition to the public is not an unreasonably dangerous activity and does not constitute a nuisance per se; (2) To the extent the constitution of this state and the United States protect citizens' rights to keep and bear arms, the Legislature finds and declares that it is within the strict prerogative of its own authority, and not the authority of any county or municipality, to determine whether any manufacturer, dealer or seller of firearms has engaged in any act or omission that would create a cognizable action for damages, injunction or otherwise.
§55-16-2. Authority to bring suit against manufacturers, sellers, trade associations or dealers of firearms.

The authority to bring suit and the right to recover against any firearms or ammunition manufacturer, seller, trade association or dealer of firearms by or on behalf of any county or municipality in this state for damages, abatement or injunctive relief resulting from or relating to the design, manufacture, marketing, or sale of firearms or ammunition to the public shall be reserved exclusively to the state: Provided, That nothing contained in this article may prohibit a county or municipality from bringing an action for breach of contract or warranty as to firearms or ammunition purchased by the county or municipality.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to declare that the design, marketing, manufacture or sale of firearms or ammunition to the public is not an unreasonably dangerous activity; and to provide that the right to institute suit against firearms manufacturers, dealers or sellers is the strict prerogative of the state.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.