Bulletproof vests costs $500 to $600, and a federal grant program provides up to half of that amount. Assuming the maximum grant amount were available, the state could buy as many as 2,000 vests with the memorial allocation.

Michael Letts, president and founder of Invest USA, estimates that 4,500 law enforcement officers need bulletproof vests in South Carolina. That includes 750 highway patrolmen who use vests tailored for other officers, or vests that have reached the end of their useful lives. (The vests are made from synthetic fabrics, and the weave eventually gets loose from wear.)

Invest USA, founded 10 years ago in Columbia, is a charitable organization that now helps provides bulletproof vests nationwide. It has raised funds for 1,000 vests donated to South Carolina law officers.

Bulletproof vests help save the lives of law enforcement officers. Making them available more broadly would mean that fewer officers would have to be memorialized, on the Statehouse grounds or elsewhere.

It's a sound proposal that recognizes the dangers faced by officers in a practical way.