The following are responses to a survey sent to police officers and sheriff's deputies throughout West Virginia. The survey was conducted to accompany an article on permitless concealed carry.
Each of the 29 respondents used their agency's email, and the survey promised confidentiality to generate honest answers.
Do you support the decision to pass HB 4145, allowing people ages 21 and up to carry a concealed firearm without a permit?
n 25 "no"
n 4 "yes"
If not, what were the most important components of the permit requirement? For this question, respondents chose multiple answers.
n 24 chose "firearm training"
n 22 chose "background checks"
n 9 chose "peace of mind for law enforcement"
n 1 chose "added revenue"
n Other: "Ability to search when a weapon has been detected"
n Other: "Making it more accessible for law enforcement to obtain medical records for those who have been deemed ineligible to possess firearms"
n Other: "WV residents only"
How did the bill's passage affect how you feel on patrol?
n 16 chose "less safe"
n 12 chose "unchanged"
n 1 chose "more safe"
Do you believe permitless concealed carry has ever kept you from discovering a possible crime or stopping a crime in the near future? If so, please explain.
n "Yes. Many times the charge of carrying a concealed weapon was used when dealing with a known criminal but when no other charges necessarily applied at that given time."
n "I feel that it could have, but I am unable to say for sure because I could not investigate further."
n "Absolutely. I sincerely believe I have made arrests in the past for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon that have prevented a future crime and more than likely saved an innocent civilians life or prevented a suspect from later being killed themselves."
n "I know when it was illegal to carry concealed without a permit there were criminals who were initially detained for that crime after their suspicious behavior attracted attention. While being detained, evidence of other weapons charges and drug trafficking were discovered, resulting in $500k in drugs and money being removed from criminal circles."
n "Yes. In the past, if I detected a concealed firearm in a situation that was already suspicious, I could search and relieve any suspicion of wrongdoing. Now I cannot unless I am familiar with the person and their history and know that they are prohibited. Before the bill was passed, a person could call in about a suspicious person in the area. The 'suspicious person' may be in the area to shoot or intimidate someone. Police could check this person out and locate a gun on them and make a carry conceal arrest, which would have gotten the 'suspect' out of the area for the night. This could cool down the situation. This is just one example."
n "Have arrested people with guns that were probably going to commit a crime"
How do you feel permitless concealed carry affects public safety?
n 18 chose "harmful"
n 8 chose "little effect"
n 3 chose "helpful"
Did the permit required to concealed carry hamper citizen freedom?
n 25 "no"
n 2 "yes"
n Other: "Fee was too expensive"
n Other: "Perhaps in some limited ways. But there are reasonable limitations on all our rights. The first amendment has limitations. One can't yell fire in a crowded theater or threaten others. The second amendment is subject to debated, reasonable boundaries, as well."
Do you support the provisional permit that allows people between the ages of 18 and 20 to carry a concealed firearm?
n 13 "yes"
n 10 "no"
n 6 "undecided"
Is there anything you would like to add?
n "I support the rights of the people to defend themselves and their property. However, I believe for the safety of the public, there should be some mandated training for firearms prior to carrying a firearm."
n "I do believe without a permit individuals forgo training and do not take into consideration the liabilities associated with firearms."
n "Fee needed lowered."
n "I am a firm believer in the Constitution, but I do not believe the concealed carry permits hindered anyone's right to carry a firearm. It was no different than someone being forced to have a driver's license. It is simply a way to ensure each concealed carrying citizen had a minimum amount of training and understood the laws that governed them."
n "By allowing all law abiding citizens to carry a concealed firearm, there are a lot of good people who may be in the position to save an officers life or their own. The reality is the bad guys, criminals, do not care if the law says they cannot have a firearm but now good people may be armed, which may make the bad guy think twice about trying to harm someone. Also this law passed last year, many who were against it stated people are going to be in gun fights all the time and put others at risk because they have not been trained to use a firearm safely. Well I had firearms before I became a police officer and I learned how to use a firearm safely before I received any official government training. From my point of view, an officer should assume that everyone you deal with may be armed with a firearm until they have been searched. Maybe just maybe if everyone treated everyone else as if they had a firearm on them I feel like everyone would be nicer to each other."
n "Most of the rationale put forth by supporters of the bill fell into one of two categories: the fee amounted to a tax or repurchase of a right afforded by the Constitution, or there should be no limitations whatsoever on a right afforded by the Constitution. The latter is an extreme view and isn't seriously considered by most people. The former is worthy of a debate. If that was the legitimate concern of the supporters why was no bill proposed reducing or eliminating the fees instead of doing away with the permit requirement wholesale? There were allegations that those lobbying for counties and sheriffs were only interested in protecting the funds collected and not public safety. A different bill would have eliminated the opposition from sheriffs and counties and satisfied most of those eager for a reduction in the fees."
n "I feel this law was carelessly passed without the opinion of the law enforcement community. The citizens who believe in the Second Amendment have legally been carrying guns for years to which they are not the problem. Now we have provided an easy way for people who would have never carried a gun in the first place to now carry and act ignorant due to there inexperience with having or handling firearms."
n "There needs to be firearm instruction and qualification for reasonable carry laws."
n "I spoke to legislators about this bill. They told me that I should acknowledge that WV citizens are good law abiding citizens and I shouldn't feel like it's more dangerous out here arresting people. I then asked them, 'Why can't that same law abiding citizen carry a firearm in a government building or the court room?'" They think we should feel safe and OK with arresting or dealing with people that have access to guns, but they don't won't to deal with them. Double standards."
n "The biggest problem that I have with this 'Constitutional Carry', is that there is no trainer. So someone that has never picked up a firearm can go purchase one and begin to carry with absolutely no experience of safety or shooting that firearm. Which makes them more of the problem on the streets than making the streets safer."
n "When it was illegal we would have people that carried guns and we could arrest them. These were bad people that were up to no good. Now they are allowed to carry and the people that have permits have some effort in to carrying. Some people should not carry as they lack the mechanics of it and can be dangerous."