From yesterday's decision by Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. (S.D. W. Va.) in W. Va. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc. v. Morrisey; note that the court struck down two other provisions of the law, which I discuss in a separate post:
Previously, the BLPA [West Virginia's Business Liability Protection Act] allowed property owners to prohibit the open or concealed carry of a firearm anywhere on their properties …[:] "[A]ny owner, lessee or other person charged with the care, custody and control of real property may prohibit the carrying openly or concealing of any firearm or deadly weapon on property under his or her domain." …
In March 2018, the West Virginia Legislature enacted House Bill 4817 [the Parking Lot Amendments], which amended the BLPA to prohibit property owners from banning firearms in the parking lot areas of their properties …:
No owner, lessee, or other person charged with the care, custody, and control of real property may prohibit any customer, employee, or invitee from possessing any legally owned firearm, when the firearm is
- Lawfully possessed;
- Out of view;
- Locked inside or locked to a motor vehicle in a parking lot; and
- When the customer, employee, or invitee is lawfully allowed to be present in that area….
No owner, lessee, or other person charged with the care, custody, and control of real property may prohibit or attempt to prevent any customer, employee, or invitee from entering the parking lot of the person's place of business because the customer's, employee's, or invitee's motor vehicle contains a legal firearm being carried for lawful purposes that is out of view within the customer's, employee's, or invitee's motor vehicle….
The court will refer to [those provisions] collectively as the "No-Prohibition Provisions."
