WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 4106
By Delegate Horst
[Introduced January 14, 2026; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-7-6, §61-7-7, and §61-7-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to repeal §61-7-3, relating to recognizing the right of persons 18 to 20 years old to carry a concealed deadly weapon without first obtaining a license; repealing the crime of carrying a deadly weapon without a license for person under 21 years of age; repealing the exceptions to prohibitions for persons 18 to 20 years old carrying concealed handguns; clarifying that certain persons 18 years of age or older have the right to carry concealed deadly weapons without first obtaining a license; clarifying that a minor unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon may be adjudicated delinquent as if he or she committed a violation of §61-7-7(a); clarifying and creating certain acts of delinquency; and making technical corrections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
[Repealed.]
(a) The provisions in section three of this article do not apply to any person at least eighteen years of age and fewer than twenty-one years of age who is:
(1) Carrying a deadly weapon upon his or her own premises;
(2) Carrying a firearm, unloaded, from the place of purchase to his or her home, residence or place of business or to a place of repair and back to his or her home, residence or place of business; or
(3) Possessing a firearm while hunting in a lawful manner or while traveling from his or her home, residence or place of business to a hunting site and returning to his or her home, residence or place of business;
(4) A member of a properly organized target-shooting club authorized by law to obtain firearms by purchase or requisition from this state or from the United States for the purpose of target practice from carrying any pistol, as defined in this article, unloaded, from his or her home, residence or place of business to a place of target practice and from any place of target practice back to his or her home, residence or place of business, for using any such weapon at a place of target practice in training and improving his or her skill in the use of the weapons;
(5) A law-enforcement officer or law-enforcement official or chief executive as defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code;
(6) An employee of the West Virginia Division of Corrections duly appointed pursuant to section eleven-c, article one, chapter twenty-five of this code while the employee is on duty;
(7) A member of the United States armed forces, reserve or National Guard;
(8) A resident of another state who holds a valid permit or license to possess or carry a handgun issued by a state or a political subdivision subject to the provisions and limitations set forth in section six-a of this article;
(9) A federal law-enforcement officer or federal police officer authorized to carry a weapon in the performance of the officer's duty; and
(10) A parole officer appointed pursuant to section fourteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code in the performance of his or her duties
(b) The following judicial officers and prosecutors and staff are exempt from paying any application fees or licensure fees required under this article. However, they shall make application and satisfy all licensure and handgun safety and training requirements to obtain a license as set forth in section four of this article §61-7-4 of this code:
(1) Any justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia;
(2) Any circuit judge;
(3) Any retired justice or retired circuit judge designated senior status by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia;
(4) Any family court judge;
(5) Any magistrate;
(6) Any prosecuting attorney;
(7) Any assistant prosecuting attorney; or
(8) Any duly appointed investigator employed by a prosecuting attorney.
(a) Except as provided in this section, no person shall possess a firearm, as such is defined in §61-7-2 of this code, who:
(1) Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
(2) Is habitually addicted to alcohol;
(3) Is an unlawful user of or habitually addicted to any controlled substance;
(4) Has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent or who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution pursuant to the provisions of §27-1-1 et seq. of this code or in similar law of another jurisdiction: Provided, That once an individual has been adjudicated as a mental defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution, he or she shall be duly notified that they are to immediately surrender any firearms in their ownership or possession: Provided, however, That the mental hygiene commissioner or circuit judge shall first make a determination of the appropriate public or private individual or entity to act as conservator for the surrendered property;
(5) Is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
(6) Has been discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions;
(7) Is subject to a domestic violence protective order that:
(A) Was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice and at which such person had an opportunity to participate;
(B) Restrains such person from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; and
(C)(i) Includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or
(ii) By its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; or
(8) Has been convicted of a misdemeanor offense of assault or battery either under the provisions of §61-2-28 of this code or the provisions of §61-2-9(b) or §61-2-9(c) of this code or a federal or state statute with the same essential elements in which the victim was a current or former spouse, current or former sexual or intimate partner, person with whom the defendant has a child in common, person with whom the defendant cohabits or has cohabited, a parent or guardian, the defendant's child or ward or a member of the defendant's household at the time of the offense or has been convicted in any court of any jurisdiction of a comparable misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or confined in the county jail for not less than 90 days nor more than one year, or both.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, any person:
(1) Who has been convicted in this state or any other jurisdiction of a felony crime of violence against the person of another or of a felony sexual offense; or
(2) Who has been convicted in this state or any other jurisdiction of a felony controlled substance offense involving a Schedule I controlled substance other than marijuana, a Schedule II or a Schedule III controlled substance as such are defined in §60A-2-204, §60A-2-205, and §60A-2-206, and §60A-2-208 of this code and who possesses a firearm as such is defined in section two of this article shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a state correctional facility for not more than five years or fined not more than $5,000, or both. The provisions of subsection (f) of this section shall not apply to persons convicted of offenses referred to in this subsection or to persons convicted of a violation of this subsection.
(c) Any person may carry a concealed deadly weapon without a license therefor who is:
(1) At least twenty-one 18 years of age;
(2) A United States citizen or legal resident thereof;
(3) Not prohibited from possessing a firearm under the provisions of this section; and
(4) Not prohibited from possessing a firearm under the provisions of 18 U. S. C. §922(g) or (n).
(d) As a separate and additional offense to the offense provided for in subsection (a) of this section, and in addition to any other offenses outlined in this code, and except as provided by subsection (e) of this section, any person prohibited by subsection (a) of this section from possessing a firearm who carries a concealed firearm is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a state correctional facility for not more than three years or fined not more than $5,000, or both.
(e) As a separate and additional offense to the offense described in subsection (b) of this section, and in additional to any other offenses outlined in this code, any person prohibited by subsection (b) of this section from possessing a firearm who carries a concealed firearm is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a state correctional facility for not more than ten years or fined not more than $10,000, or both.
(f) Any person prohibited from possessing a firearm by the provisions of subsection (a) of this section may petition the circuit court of the county in which he or she resides to regain the ability to possess a firearm and if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person is competent and capable of exercising the responsibility concomitant with the possession of a firearm, the court may enter an order allowing the person to possess a firearm if such possession would not violate any federal law: Provided, That a person prohibited from possessing a firearm by the provisions of subdivision (4), subsection (a) of this section may petition to regain the ability to possess a firearm in accordance with the provisions of §61-7A-5 of this code.
(g) Any person who has been convicted of an offense which disqualifies him or her from possessing a firearm by virtue of a criminal conviction whose conviction was expunged or set aside or who subsequent thereto receives an unconditional pardon for said offense shall not be prohibited from possessing a firearm by the provisions of the section.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, a person under the age of 18 years who is not married or otherwise emancipated shall not possess or carry concealed or openly any deadly weapon: Provided, That a minor may possess a firearm upon premises owned by the minor or his or her family or on the premises of another with the permission of his or her parent or guardian and in the case of property other than his or her own or that of his or her family, with the permission of the owner or lessee of the property: Provided, however, That nothing in this section shall prohibit a minor from possessing a firearm while hunting in a lawful manner or while traveling from a place where he or she may lawfully possess a deadly weapon, to a hunting site, and returning to a place where he or she may lawfully possess the weapon.
A violation of this section by a person under the age of 18 years shall subject the child to the jurisdiction of the circuit court under the provisions of §49-4-701 through §49-4-725 of this code, and the minor may be proceeded against in the same manner as if he or she had committed an act which if committed by an adult would be a crime violation of §61-7-7(a) of this code, and may be adjudicated delinquent.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to recognize the right of persons 18-20 years of age to carry a deadly weapon without first obtaining a license to carry concealed deadly weapons.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.