NO TRAINING REQUIRED WEST VIRGINIA JOINS STATES NOT REQUIRING GUN CARRIERS TO HAVE PERMITS OR TRAINING Despite the objections of West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and law enforcement officers, the West Virginia House officially tossed out this month permit and training requirements for people over 21 who want to carry a concealed weapon, overriding the governor’s veto. West Virginia Joins Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Vermont and Wyoming in allowing people who may not know how to shoot or handle a gun to nevertheless carry one in public. Why? Because training and permit requirements infringe on the Second Amendment say lawmakers and the NRA who helped them. SOME STATES LIKE KANSAS EVEN MADE ANY LAW REQUIRING PERMITS AND TRAINING FOR CONCEALED CARRIERS ILLEGAL. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WILL BE AT GREATER RISK In vetoing the West Virginia law, Gov. Tomblin noted law enforcement officers will be at greater risk with no way of knowing whether someone is armed, the training they have received or even their criminal history. (The nixed permitting process had included a background check.) The same risks apply to the public. “I DON’T KNOW HOW WE AS A SOCIETY CAN SAY IT’S OK FOR SOMEONE TO CARRY A CONCEALED WEAPON … WITH ABSOLUTELY NO TRAINING AND EXPECT IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS, THEY’RE GOING TO BE THE HERO TO RUSH IN TO PROTECT THEIR FAMILY OR STRANGERS,” said Raleigh County Sheriff Steve Tanner of Beckley. Requiring permits, background checks and training to carry a concealed weapon “works very, very well," said Tanner noting that no one who has a "right to have these weapons" has been denied in the current permit system. Y0U ARE AT INCREASED RISK AND IT IS GETTING WORSE Even if your state has not allowed people without training or a permit to carry guns, you are at increased risk. That is because more and more states have “reciprocity” agreements in which they honor the laws of others states. That means someone who does not know who to handle or shoot a gun can brazenly walk down the street in states other than their own. THE GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC IS WORSENING While some gun safety groups say US laws are getting better, laws like West Virginia’s show it is just the opposite. THE GUN VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC IS WORSENING AND EVERYONE IS AT RISK AT SCHOOL, THE WORKPLACE, THE MALL, THE MOVIES AND ON US HIGHWAYS. At least 17 pro-gun states (read 34 senators) will NEVER allow Congress to pass new gun laws even as the epidemic increases (see link to FAIRY TALE OF A CONGRESSIONAL SOLUTION below.) That is why we call on you to get others to sign our petition (see below) calling on President Obama to declare a National State of Emergency for the gun violence epidemic—just as he has done during his term over the Swine Flu, the California wild fires and, with initial steps, the Zika virus. Elliot Fineman CEO - Founder National Gun Victims Action Council www.gunvictimsaction.org/donate www.gunvictimsaction.org https://gunvictimsaction.org/news/fairy-tale-of-congressional-solution-to-gun-violence/#more-9792 https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-halt-the-gun-violence-epidemic-today-by-declaring-a-national-state-of-emergency