South Carolina top cop calls for 'felon-in-possession' law to align federal, state statutes - Johnson City Press (subscription)
(The Center Square) – Numerous gun rights proposals submitted by South Carolina lawmakers await resolution when they convene the second half of their 2021-22 biennium session in January.
The Legislature already has adopted one firearms measure, House Bill 3094, The Open Carry with Training Act, which allows concealed weapons permit holders to openly carry handguns after undergoing training.
HB 3094, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Cox, R-Greenville, was adopted by the Senate, 28-16, and House, 83-34. It was signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster on May 17 and went into effect Aug. 15.
Cox and 35 cosponsors also filed House Bill 3096, The South Carolina Constitutional Carry Act, to authorize anyone legally allowed to own a gun to carry it without a state-issued license.
The House approved HB 3096 in a 69-47 vote with an amendment prohibiting state and local law enforcement from allocating funds for “implementation, regulation, or enforcement” of any law adopted by Congress or rule imposed by the president that contradicts” HB 3096 “if passed after Jan. 1, 2021.”
While HB 3096 seeks to prenullify federal firearms regulations adopted from 2021 on, several other stalled bills call for full nullification of all federal firearms regulation.
House Bill 3042, The Second Amendment Preservation Act, sponsored by Rep. Stewart Jones, R-Laurens, and 28 cosponsors, awaits a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, and Senate Bill 614, sponsored by Sen. Tom Corbin, R-Greenville, would make every South Carolina adult a militia member and exempt from federal law. SB 614 was approved by one panel but never advanced beyond.
Amid the symbolic nullification bills, South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel is calling lawmakers’ attention to a stalled bipartisan bill that would align state and federal statutes to ensure state agencies can arrest felons in possession of firearms.
During a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, Keel said legislators should adopt House Bill 3708, “a true felon-in-possession law,” which would expand illegal gun possession to anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
HB 3708, sponsored by Democrat Reps. Seth Rose of Richland and Sandy McGarry of Lancaster and Republican House members Tommy Pope of York and Bruce Bryant of Lake Wylie, also establishes tiered-sentencing guidelines.
The bill was forwarded to the House Judiciary Committee and remains unheard despite Pope being the next speaker of the house.
Referring to statistics released by SLED in June and confirmed by the FBI this month, Keel cited a 51% increase in homicides statewide the past five years, including a 25% surge in 2020.
“It’s important that our legislative priorities reflect this, and we take immediate legislative steps to stem the violence,” Keel said, noting state and local law enforcement agencies said the measure would allow them to arrest more felons illegally carrying firearms.
Keel’s comments echo Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook’s letter to legislators in February that suggested “commonsense solutions” to reconcile variations in state and federal code.
For instance, Holbrook wrote, a conviction for strong arm robbery doesn’t preclude a South Carolinian from legally owning a firearm although the individual cannot legally purchase one under federal law.
Felons who violate South Carolina’s 2010 law can be charged with illegal possession with a maximum punishment of a $2,000 fine and/or up to five years in prison. Law enforcement officials want escalator tiers to increase penalties for repeated violations.
“In South Carolina, a person’s potential sentence for his first conviction of unlawful possession of a handgun is exactly the same as the fifth conviction,” Holbrook wrote. “The state should enact graduated or progressive sentencing … meaning, after each arrest the penalty is more severe.”
source: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/south-carolina-top-cop-calls-for-felon-in-possession-law-to-align-federal-state-statutes/article_94af96c7-3b78-5132-865a-db73d7f945ca.html
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