OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS POINTLESSNESS OF MORE GUN LAWS
South Carolina, as we contended in an August commentary, doesn’t deserve its fiercely pro-gun reputation – at least, not if the criterion is state law rather than general attitudes. Unfortunately, however, state law isn’t the only thing South Carolina gun owners need to be concerned about. Another is federal coercion.The only firearm-related legislation passed by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2013 has the has the effect of barring gun ownership for those deemed to be “mental defectives.” It has since come to light that the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has received a $900,000 grant from the federal Department of Justice to help improve South Carolina’s use of the National Criminal Background Check System. In fact, SLED applied for the federal grant shortly after the legislature passed Act 22 barring “mental defectives” from gun ownership.
The lesson here is simple and the same for almost any interaction between a state and the federal government: Do what the federal government wants and your state gets money. Don’t do what we want, and have funds taken away.
State acceptance of federal money to help enforce gun control measures is alarming enough – even if the grant wasn’t conditioned on South Carolina passing a mental health gun control bill. But the fact that the federal government is willing to furnish funds to enforce state gun control measures may well weaken resistance among state legislators to future acts of gun control. Further, federal authorities may attempt in the future to tie more agency grants to state acceptance of new firearm restrictions. Alternatively, they may threaten not to renew existing grants unless new firearm restrictions are implemented.
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