West Virginia Second Amendment “Preservation” Act – with Major Loopholes
Bill Link: HB2694
Effective Date: 7/9/2021
Overview: A West Virginia law purporting to make the state a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” went into effect. In practice, the West Virginia “Second Amendment Preservation Act” will only protect and preserve most federal gun control. The new law bans state and local enforcement of federal red flag laws, but leaves police free to enforce virtually all other federal gun control – present and future.

Del. Brandon Steele along with a coalition of 10 cosponsors introduced House Bill 2694 (HB2694). As initially passed by the House, the proposed law would have prohibited a state agency or department from cooperating with the enforcement of eight specific federal actions relating to firearms that “that differ from or is not substantially similar to a West Virginia law.”

In effect, it would have banned state and local enforcement of current or future federal gun control measures that don’t have concurrent measures in law in the state of West Virginia. This would have been a strong step taking on federal gun control on the books today as well as any implemented in the future.But influential law enforcement groups lobbied aggressively against the bill. Charleston Police Chief James “Tyke” Hunt warned that the bill as passed by the House would effectively defund the police by cutting off federal funding – and would make coordination with federal authorities, such as the federal BATFE, impossible. He said that without funding from and coordination with the ATF, his county’s drug problems would grow.

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