Chapter 61, Chapter 61

For purposes of this article, the following words and phrases have the following meaning: “Commandeering” means taking control of or seizing the assets, personnel, or operations of an agency of this state, or of a political subdivision of this state, or the employees of an agency…

(a) A person may bring a negligent marketing claim against a manufacturer or seller of firearms or ammunition only if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The marketing practice directly targeted individuals who are legally prohibited from owning firearms; (2) The marketi…

No agency of this state, political subdivision of this state, or employee of an agency, or political subdivision of this state, acting in his or her official capacity, may be commandeered by the United States government under an executive order or action of the President of the U…

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the Superintendent of the State Police, the Secretary of the Department of Human Services, the circuit clerks, and the Administrator of the Supreme Court of Appeals may provide notice to the central state mental heal…

(a) The predicate exception under the PLCAA may not be interpreted broadly. A claim may proceed only if the specifically cited statute was violated in the following manner: (1) The statute explicitly regulates firearms or ammunition; (2) The statute provides clear, concrete requi…

(a)(1) Except as provided in §61-7-4(q) of this code, a legal resident or citizen of West Virginia desiring to obtain a state resident license to carry a concealed deadly weapon shall apply to the sheriff of his or her county for the license, and pay to the sheriff, at the time o…

(a) Any person who is at least 18 years of age and less than 21 years of age who desires to obtain a state license to carry a concealed deadly weapon shall apply to the sheriff of his or her county for a provisional license, and pay to the sheriff, at the time of application, a f…

(a) Any person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to the provisions of §61-7-7 or by provisions of federal law by virtue solely of having previously been adjudicated to be mentally defective or to having a prior involuntary commitment to a mental institution pur…

A license to carry a deadly weapon shall be deemed revoked at such time as the person licensed becomes unable to meet the criteria for initial licensure set forth in section four of this article. Any person licensed under the provisions of this article shall immediately surrender…

(a) No police agency, department, or officer of this state may participate in the execution of a federal search warrant when the only property sought to be taken and seized under the warrant is firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition which is lawful for the person, whose pr…

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 …

No court of this state has authority or jurisdiction to issue an order depriving a citizen of this state of his or her right to possess firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition under any red flag law.

(a) A valid out-of-state permit or license to possess or carry a handgun is valid in this state for the carrying of a concealed handgun, if the following conditions are met: (1) The permit or license holder is twenty-one years of age or older; (2) The permit or license is in his …

Notwithstanding the limitations in sections four and five of this article, this article does not prevent any West Virginia law-enforcement agency from doing any of the following that does not violate any policy of the law-enforcement agency or any local law or policy of the juris…

(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 un…

Whenever any federal statute, presidential executive order, agency order, federal law, rule, or regulation is determined by the Attorney General of this state to infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms affirmed under the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United St…

(a) 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 own…

It shall be unlawful for any person to carry, transport, or have in his possession, any machine gun, submachine gun, or any other fully automatic weapon unless he or she has fully complied with applicable federal statutes and all applicable rules and regulations of the secretary …

On or before January 1, 2022, and as often thereafter as he or she shall consider necessary, the Attorney General shall publish policies for police departments and agencies of this state, and for the police departments and agencies of the political subdivisions of this state, pro…

In this article, unless a different meaning is plainly required: (1) "Abuse" means the infliction upon a minor of physical injury by other than accidental means. (2) "Child" means any person under eighteen years of age not otherwise emancipated by law. (3) "Controlled substance" …

In this article, unless a different meaning plainly is required: (1) "Forcible compulsion" means: (A) Physical force that overcomes such earnest resistance that is reasonably expected under the circumstances; (B) Threat or intimidation, expressed or implied, placing a person in f…

When used in this article, the following words, and any variations thereof required by the context, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section: (a) “Adult” means a person eighteen years of age or older. (b) “Computer” means an electronic, magnetic, optical, electroch…

Any person, being married, who, during the life of the former husband or wife, shall marry another person in this state, or, if the marriage with such other person take place out of this state, shall thereafter cohabit with such other person in this state, shall be guilty of a fe…

The Legislature finds that disabled persons and particularly disabled children are often more vulnerable and in greater need of protection than the nondisabled. Concomitant with greater vulnerability is the enhanced risk of injury and intimidation, particularly when the child is …

(a) For the purposes of this article: (1) “Minor” means any child under 18 years of age. (2) “Knowledge” means knowing or having reasonable cause to know which warrants further inspection or inquiry. (3) “Sexually explicit conduct” includes any of the following, whether actually …

It shall be unlawful for any physician, dentist or other person to administer chloroform, ether, or any anaesthetic whatsoever, whereby sleep or total loss of sensation or consciousness may be produced, to any female person, unless in the presence of some third person. Any person…

(a) Whenever moneys, securities or other negotiable instruments are forfeited under the provisions of this article, such proceeds shall be distributed as follows: (1) Ten percent of the proceeds shall be tendered to the office of the prosecuting attorney which initiated the forfe…

(a) Any person employed by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, any person working at a correctional or juvenile facility managed by the Commissioner of Corrections and Rehabilitation pursuant to contract, such as a vendor, or as an employee of a state agency or as a v…

(a) Any person eighteen years of age or older who knowingly contributes to or encourages the delinquency of a child is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 or confined for a period not exceeding one year or both…

(a) In any prosecution under this article in which the victim’s lack of consent is based solely on the incapacity to consent because such victim was below a critical age, evidence of specific instances of the victim’s sexual conduct, opinion evidence of the victim’s sexual conduc…

(a) When property other than that referred to in section ten of this article is forfeited under this article, the circuit court ordering the forfeiture, upon application by the prosecuting attorney or the Superintendent of the State Police or his or her designee, may direct that:…

(a) No person shall intentionally breathe, inhale, or drink any compound, liquid, or chemical containing acetone, amylacetate, benzol or benzene, butyl acetate, butyl alcohol, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, cyclohexanone, ethanol or ethyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, hexane, isopro…

In any case where a person is convicted of an offense described in this article against a child and the person has custodial, visitation, or other parental rights to the child who is the victim of the offense or any child who resides in the same household as the victim, the court…

(a) Any teacher, principal, counselor, coach, other employee, volunteer, or school resource officer of any private or public elementary or secondary school who engages in sexual intercourse, sexual intrusion, or sexual contact, as those terms are defined in §61-8B-1 of this code,…

(a) In any prosecution under this article in which the victim's lack of consent is based solely on the incapacity to consent because such victim was below a critical age, mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, it is an affirmative defense that the defe…

(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) “Aunt” means the sister of a person’s mother or father; (2) “Brother” means the son of a person’s mother or father; (3) “Daughter” means a person’s natural daughter, adoptive daughter, or the daughter of a person’s husband or wife; (4) “F…

(a) In any prosecution under the provisions of section twelve of this article, the court may provide by rule for reasonable limits on the number of interviews to which a victim who is eleven years old or less must submit for law-enforcement or discovery purposes. To the extent po…

In addition to any penalty provided under this article and any restitution, which may be ordered by the court under article eleven-a of this chapter, the court may order any person convicted under the provisions of this article to pay all or any portion of the cost of medical, ps…

(a) Any person who unlawfully and intentionally disinters or displaces a dead human body, or any part of a dead human body, placed or deposited in any vault, mausoleum or any temporary or permanent burial place, removes personal effects of the decedent removes or damages caskets,…

In any prosecution under this article, the court may provide by rule for reasonable limits on the number of interviews to which a victim who is a child who is eleven years old or less must submit for law enforcement or discovery purposes. The rule shall to the extent possible pro…

There is continued the "Forensic Medical Examination Fund”, created as a special fund in the state Treasury, into which shall be deposited legislative appropriations to the fund. The West Virginia prosecuting attorneys Institute, created by the provisions of section six, article …

(a) No person may carry out, with respect to any cemetery or building at which a funeral or memorial service or ceremony is to be held, a demonstration within 500 feet of the cemetery or building that: (1) Is conducted during the period beginning 60 minutes before and ending 60 m…

(a) When any person alleges that he or she has been the victim of an offense proscribed by this article, the West Virginia prosecuting attorneys institute shall pay to a licensed medical facility from the forensic medical examination fund the cost of the forensic medical examinat…

(a) It is unlawful for any person with intent to harass or abuse another by means of telephone to: (1) Make any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene; or (2) Make a telephone call, whether or not conversation ensues, without disclosing his or her identity and …

(a) The West Virginia prosecuting attorneys institute is hereby directed to undertake a study of the viability of the state seeking reimbursement from private insurance companies for the cost of forensic medical examinations. The study shall be completed prior to the first day of…

The executive council of the West Virginia prosecuting attorneys institute, created by the provisions of section six, article four, chapter seven of this code, shall promulgate rules in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, for the administration of t…

(a)(1) It is unlawful for any person to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly, (A) Mistreat an animal in cruel manner; (B) Abandon an animal; (C) Withhold; (i) Proper sustenance, including food or water; (ii) Shelter that protects from the elements of weather; or (iii) Medical t…

(a) Records confidential.— All records and information maintained by the courts of this state or any law enforcement agency of this state or any of its political subdivisions, which contain identifying information of a victim in an arrest, investigation, or complaint for the offe…

(a) For the purpose of this article, "animal fighting venture" means any event that involves a fight conducted or to be conducted between at least two animals for purposes of sport, wagering, or entertainment: Provided, That it shall not be deemed to include any lawful activity t…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly attend or knowingly cause an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen to attend, an animal fighting venture involving animals as defined in section nineteen-a, article eight of this chapter. (b) Any person who violates the…