CLAIRIFICATION:
1. The bills' sponsor, Delegate Shott, had to amend her own bill because, IN THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, Delegate Manchin split the bill in two in House Judiciary, splitting the enhanced penalties for gun crimes off as a separate bill. The strategy was to allow anti-gun representatives to vote for the enhanced penalties and avoid being called weak on crime, while allowing them to vote separately against constitutional carry. Delegate Shott was able to get the bill back into one piece again by amending it.
2. Delegate Eldridge added Probation Officers in performance of their duties to the list of people allowed to be armed IN SCHOOLS (not courts as I erroneously reported). Makes the bill stronger.
3. Delegate Skinners' three amendments are uniformly designed to gut vital provisions of the bill. All three Skinner amendments need to be defeated.
4. Delegate Byrd added "resident of WV" to the list of requirements to "Constitutional Carry" in WV. That is NOT what the bill intends. The Byrd amendment needs to be defeated.
IN SUMMARY: West Virginians, please ask your Delegate to support the Eldridge and Shott amendments, oppose the Byrd and Skinner amendments AND vote to pass HB4145 on to the Senate. Every call and email is important, but those from the following counties are CRITICAL: Greenbrier, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Marion, Marshall, McDowell, Mercer, Morgan, Ohio, Ritchie, Summers, Upshur, Wayne.
Will report after Feb 8 House session is complete and published online. House session is scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM.
Expect very similar tactics to befall the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee.