CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s attorney general is getting involved in the debate over Senate Bill 317, also known as the municipal gun bill.
In March, the city of Charleston filed a complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court asking a judge to determine whether the city’s municipal recreation centers qualify as educational facilities under state law.
If a judge agrees with the city, Charleston will be able to continue banning guns from its recreation centers.
However, Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Thursday afternoon his office filed a motion to intervene in the case, saying the city’s complaint should be dismissed “because the City [sic] did not sue anyone.”
A press release from Morrisey’s office said Charleston’s complaint “violates basic court rules.” Morrisey’s office believes “the City cannot seek a judge’s opinion on laws that are not being contested by two parties.”
“The City of Charleston violated the most basic court rule: that there has to be conflict between two parties,” Morrisey said in the release. “In this lawsuit, it is the City of Charleston versus no one. The City may have questions regarding the new law, but this is not the correct method to seek those kinds of answers.”
City Attorney Paul Ellis disagreed. He also said Morrisey’s intrusion into the case was “unprecedented and premature…
