We have sharp disagreement over a key provision of the gun bill just signed into law by Governor Tomblin.
A critical section of the law reads, “A municipality may not prohibit a person with a valid concealed handgun permit from carrying an otherwise lawfully possessed firearm into a municipally owned recreation facility and securely storing the firearm out of view and access to others during their time at the municipally owned recreation facility.”
It’s the phrase “securely storing the firearm” that is open to interpretation.
The language was suggested by the National Rifle Association and it was added to the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Chairman Corey Palumbo (D-Kanawha) said on Metronews Talkline he thinks it means individuals with concealed carry permits must put their gun in a proper storage locker when entering the rec centers.
“I think the intent of that was to say that if the rec center has a place that would enable the person with a concealed carry permit to lock it away so there’s no way anyone else could get to it, then they can do that,” Palumbo said. “Otherwise the gun would have to be locked in a vehicle.”
Sen. John Unger (D-Berkeley) sponsored the bill with the aim of standardizing gun laws between the state and municipalities. He did not include the language about the rec centers, but he agrees with Palumbo.
He said on Metronews Talkline that if a rec center does not have storage lockers for guns, the individual could not enter the facility with their concealed weapon. If there are lockers, the gun has to be stored, Unger said.
However, the National Rifle Association has an entirely different interpretation. The NRA’s legal division said, “It is clear that a person with a concealed carry license can (emphasis added) carry a firearm concealed in a ‘municipally owned recreation facility’ even if the facility does provide for secure storage (emphasis added).”
So in the NRA’s view, you don’t need to store the weapon anywhere but on your person. One phrase, two completely different interpretations of the meaning.
Meanwhile, Charleston Mayor Danny Jones is trying his best to keep guns out of the rec centers, lockers or no. The city is asking a judge for a declaratory judgment to determine whether it can bar individuals with concealed carry weapons from bringing firearms into municipally owned rec facilities where school related activities are taking place.
State law makes it a felony to bring guns into schools, and city attorney Sean McGinley is arguing that the rec centers with their after school and Head Start programs should be included in the ban.
“The odd thing that they (lawmakers) have done here is simply tied the hands of cities… from passing any kinds of laws or ordinances… from preventing someone with a concealed weapon license from going into these places,” McGinley said. “The city really needs clarity on what the provisions of this law mean.”
It’s true that words mean things, but it’s not always clear what they mean.