West Virginia § 1-7-1 Legislative purpose

West Virginia Statutes

§ 1-7-1 — Legislative purpose

West Virginia § 1-7-1

Ch. 1THE STATE AND ITS SUBDIVISIONS

Art. 7THE PROTECT OUR RIGHT TO UNITE ACT

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Bluebook

W. Va. Code § 1-7-1 (2026).

Text

The purpose of this article is to protect an individual’s constitutional right to privately associate with advocacy groups that represent his or her beliefs. As the Supreme Court of the United States held inNAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 (1958), compelled disclosure of an advocacy group’s donor or membership lists, where such disclosure would discourage association, is a trespass upon the fundamental freedoms protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, this article should be liberally construed in favor of an individual’s right to association, to ensure that private association is not discouraged or suppressed by any actions of the public agencies of this state.

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The purpose of this article is to protect an individual’s constitutional right to privately associate with advocacy groups that represent his or her beliefs. As the Supreme Court of the United States held inNAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 (1958), compelled disclosure of an advocacy group’s donor or membership lists, where such disclosure would discourage association, is a trespass upon the fundamental freedoms protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, this article should be liberally construed in favor of an individual’s right to association, to ensure that private association is not discouraged or suppressed by any actions of the public agencies of this state.