GANGS AND THE LEGISLATURE: Senator supports bill against gangs

By LEE HENDREN, T&D Staff Writer

"We all recognize that gang activity is a problem, and it's a problem we need to address," says state Sen. Brad Hutto, an Orangeburg Democrat.

In the General Assembly last year, Hutto initially opposed a proposed anti-gang bill, saying its definition of a gang was overly broad.

For instance, defining a gang as a "group of people who wear the same color of shirts with the same lettering on it" would encompass sororities, veterans groups and fans of particular sports teams, he said.

"We corrected that in committee," he said, and after that, he supported the bill.

The legislation made it through subcommittee and committee hearings and gained the support of a majority of senators, but then it fell victim to a filibuster late in the session, Hutto said.

Hutto initially took the position that "any crime a gang member might commit is already punishable by law." But he has since been convinced otherwise, particularly with regard to supporting people who leave a gang.

Hutto says it should be a crime for gang members to intimidate or threaten former gang members or their family members.

"We need to afford them a mechanism for getting out," he said, adding that Senate Bill 79 — which was pre-filed on Dec. 8 and largely mirrors last year's proposal — would accomplish that.

Hutto, who is a lawyer, says he has encountered enough evidence in legal cases and sheriff's office incident reports to convince him that "there probably is some gang activity in Orangeburg County."

"Law enforcement officers are looking for a more effective tool to combat what they see as an increasing problem," Hutto said. "Law enforcement needs the proper statutes on the books to deal with" it.

The South Carolina General Assembly will open a new session Jan. 11.

"It is not clear this (legislation) is automatically going to pass," Hutto said. "The problem is going to be making sure we are clear and concise in the definitions."

The proposal before the Senate is named the Criminal Gang Prevention Act.

It specifies that a gang is a group of people who come together "for the purpose of committing criminal activity" and exhibit a pattern of collective criminal activity, Hutto said.

Hutto also wants assurances that anti-gang laws make a distinction between ongoing criminal enterprises and isolated acts of mischief or pranks.