West Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
West Virginia SB1071: Creating Public Defense and Provisioning Act
Status: Introduced, February 23, 2026
What the bill says
To amend and reenact §61-7-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §15-6A-1, §15-6A-2, §15-6A-3, §15-6A-4, §15-6A-5, §15-6A-6, §15-6A-7, §15-6A-8, §15-6A-9, §15-6A-10, §15-6A-11, and §15-6A-12, relating to Creating the Public Defense and Provisioning Act; and establishing a state office of public defense for the procurement and sale of machine guns to qualified members of the public. CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY. Article 6A. Public Defense and Provisioning Act. §15-6A-1. Legislative Findings. (a) The Legislature of the State of West Virginia he.
From the introduced text, February 23, 2026:
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-7-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §15-6A-1, §15-6A-2, §15-6A-3, §15-6A-4, §15-6A-5, §15-6A-6, §15-6A-7, §15-6A-8, §15-6A-9, §15-6A-10, §15-6A-11, and §15-6A-12, relating to Creating the Public Defense and Provisioning Act; and establishing a state office of public defense for the procurement and sale of machine guns to qualified members of the public. CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY. Article 6A. Public Defense and Provisioning Act. §15-6A-1. Legislative Findings. (a) The Legislature of the State of West Virginia hereby finds and declares that: (1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution declares that "[a] well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." (2) In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court explained that the Second Amendment's prefatory Militia Clause "announces" the Amendment's "purpose" and serves a "clarifying function" as to the Amendment's protections. Id. at 577, 578. To that end, the Second Amendment guarantees the people's unrestricted access to arms to (1) "repel[] invasions and suppress[] insurrections," (2) "render[] large standing armies unnecessary," and (3) "resist tyranny." Id. at 597-98. (2) Next, the Supreme Court explained that "the people" protected by the Second Amendment …