Amid gun control buzz, WV looks to invite dissatisfied VA counties to join Mountain State – WVVA TV

TWO VIRGINIAS (WVVA) — Lawmakers in West Virginia passed a resolution Monday, extending an invitation to Frederick County (VA) to join the Mountain State.

After that resolution passed the Senate, representatives came up with a broader version that would ultimately allow any dissatisfied county in Virginia to cross the state line.

After several concerning gun control bills were introduced by the General Assembly, some Commonwealth residents want to do just that.

Giles County resident Joseph McClung traveled to Charleston the day after Frederick County was invited to join West Virginia.

“I came down here to get copies of the bill,” McClung said. “I’m going to Richmond [on] Monday and I’m going to present this to many of the people that represent us. I’m gonna ask, ‘what’s more important? Being free, or being part of [the] communist state of Virginia?'”

However, leaders in Tazewell County say the proposed gun laws are nothing to panic over quite yet.

“The General Assembly session isn’t even halfway through yet,” said Charles Stacy, Eastern District Rep. on the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors. “These bills are dying in committee, which we expected. Let’s see what comes out of the General Assembly [first].”

Even if those stricter gun laws do pass, local leaders have the means to challenge them — through two resolutions passed by the Board of Supervisors in December.

Even then, leaders say leaving the Commonwealth would do more harm than good — as residents who have Virginia licenses to make a living would immediately be out of work.

“The moment you belong to another state, those licenses are invalid,” Stacy explained. “You have that whole process of trying to have people who have to make their living re-certify in a different state and under different requirements. I could see that economically, that would be a disaster on 100 fronts.”

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