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Gun
regulations relaxed in S.C.
May
26, 2004
By WALLACE
McBRIDE
Index-Journal
senior staff writer
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| Scott Winn, a salesman at
Hunter’s Headquarters, holds one of many pistols the
business has for sale. The S.C. General Assembly lifted
restrictions this week that prevented state residents
from buying more than one pistol in a 30-day period.
| For almost 30 years, anyone
interested in buying handguns in South Carolina had to wait 30
days between purchases.
These restrictions have been in
place since 1975, devised as a method of stemming a perceived
flow of handguns from South Carolina to states with tougher
gun laws.
State law barred people from purchasing more than
one pistol on the same application, and from buying more than
a single handgun in a 30-day period.
These restrictions
were lifted this week, at least for state residents.
“It
only took eight years to get this thing repealed. Everybody
fought me every step of the way,” said R.T. Moore, a senior
recruiter for the National Rifle Association. “My biggest
stumbling block was not the anti-gun people, it was the
National Rifle Association. They didn’t want to do this
— for eight years they said ‘it wasn’t the right
time.’”
Greenwood Sheriff Sam Riley, though, said the
restrictions served as effective deterrents to certain
crimes.
“I was a little surprised,” Riley said of the
change. “I thought it was a good law.”
Gun buyers are still
required to complete an application to document their name,
address, date of birth and social security number.
Also,
dealers will not be allowed to sell pistols to people unless
they can prove they are South Carolina residents.
“There
are some positive sides to it,” Riley said. “But I was a
little surprised that they did away with the multiple gun
purchases.”
The previous law had not had an impact on
person-to-person gun sales, said Doug Howell, owner of Jewelry
and Pawn Shop. Some people have taken advantage of this
loophole to sell handguns “person-to-person” at flea markets,
he said.
“You can go out there and buy as many as you want
to,” he said. “You have to pay a little more for them, but you
don’t have to go through a background check.”
“It should
never have been enacted,” said Scott Winn, a salesman at
Hunter’s Headquarters and certified NRA instructor. “It serves
no purpose and has never prevented a single crime.”
“I feel
like the people who are going to come from out of state to buy
a large quantity of guns are not going to come to people like
me,” said Billy Hoole, owner of Sportsman’s Friend, a hunting
supply company that also sells guns. “I don’t keep that many
of any one model of a handgun on hand, anyway.”
“There are
some people who collect guns, and it may be helpful to them,”
Hoole said. “As a whole I don’t think it’s going to affect the
general public.”
Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and
general assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at
223-1812, or: wmcbride@indexjournal.com
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