UPDATE: 3/23/2012 3:45 PM

Legislation to allow the Parkersburg South High School Patriot to carry his musket at away games was not passed during this legislative session.

Schools across West Virginia have prohibited the Patriot to carry and fire his musket .

Principal Tom Eschbacher says he feels it's common sense to allow the mascot to bring a piece of PSHS history. But, they know for now, they have to play by the rules of other schools.

"I think it's kind of a common sense issue, and some people interpret rules differently than we do. It's one of those traditions that we would like to carry on and we've been restricted. So we'd like to get it in code so it's out there and everybody can read it," Eschbacher says.

He says he knows our senators and delgates work hard, and has hope for next session. "There are probably a lot of other priorities that they had to deal with in this last session, so I'm not overly concerned with it. I understand that our little patriot bill and our little musket bill is probably a back burner issue, so I understand. But I'm very confident that they'll look at it as an important thing the next time they are in session and hopefully we'll get an opportunity to get it passed.

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UPDATE: 2/2/2012

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia legislators have given the Parkersburg South High School mascot hope of a reprieve from a ban on guns on school property.

The Senate Education committee advanced a bill Thursday to exempt the school's Patriot mascot from the gun restrictions. The changes would mirror an exemption already provided for West Virginia University's Mountaineer mascot.

Principal Tom Eschbacher brought the school's musket with him to the Capitol and told lawmakers that students wanted to be able to fire the weapon at away games.

Parkersburg South mascots have fired the gun at home games since 1967 and Eschbacher called it a proud community tradition. He promised lawmakers that only the mascot handles the gun and that students are properly trained to load and fire the musket.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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UPDATE: 1/31/2012 6:36 PM

A proud Parkersburg South Patriot mascot is ready to fight for his school spirit and the for the right to carry his musket.

"Anywhere you see the symbol of the patriot, he's carrying his gun. It's painted on the walls of the school. He has his gun with him. I feel that it's part of his uniform," Alex Burdette, the mascot wearing senior says.

This muzzle loading mascot is ready to go to war for a Parkersburg South tradition.

"I first realized there was a problem when at certain away games the security guards would come up and kind of give me weird looks when they saw me take off the cover of the musket, and I'm holding a gun," Burdette says.

It's illegal to have deadly weapons on school grounds, but Patriot Burdette doesn't consider his musket dangerous. "I explain it as, it shoots a cotton ball instead of a lead one."

Now the school wants permission for the patriot to carry his musket at both home and away games.

PSHS Principal, Tom Eschbacher says, "I wrote letters to our two state senators and five delegates asking them if they would include the Parkersburg South High School Patriot as one of the exemptions as they do the WVU Mountaineer."

Even though Burdette is a senior, he hopes he can change things for future Patriots.

"It be like I'm the patriot that this happened to, and I would be able to pass that down through the rest of the years and just saying that puts a big smile on my face," Burdette adds.

Carrying on a school tradition of patriotism and pride.

Senator Nohe introduced Senate Bill 327. It asks for an exemption for the Parkersburg South Patriot to carry his musket on school grounds.

It's right below the already written exemption for the West Virginia University Mountaineer.

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Musket-toting mascots have been a fixture for decades at Parkersburg South High School home athletic events.

It's when the school's Patriot mascot has gone on the road that troubles brew.

Now, several Wood County lawmakers want to create an exemption under state law so the mascot can carry the musket at away games.

Alex Burdette is the high school senior who dons the Patriot costume.
He's been stopped by a handful of school administrators and law enforcement officers from carrying his musket at away games.

They say it goes against the State Safe Schools Act. The law prohibits firearms possession on school grounds, but allows for local exemptions if approved by a principal or local board of education.

This also applies to the WVU Mountaineer mascot.