Charleston, South Carolina — The Charleston County Council is considering revising a guns discharge ordinance. At Tuesday’s meeting, the change was approved unanimously on its first reading.
The Charleston County Council is debating a change to the weapons law (WCIV).
Ordinances that forbid the discharge of weapons in specific metropolitan areas are already in effect in the cities of Charleston, North Charleston, and Mount Pleasant.
“Regardless, the discharge of firearms is illegal in all three of our communities. No exclusions, please. “That’s not the case in the county or unincorporated areas,” Brantley Moody, a council member from District Seven, stated.
The amendment seeks to address unincorporated regions where an existing municipal ordinance isn’t enforced, or what Moody refers to as “donut holes.”
“This was never a campaign to ban firearms. “This was always just an effort to make our cities [safer] places to live,” Moody stated. “So, we’re seeing that a community may contain hundreds of homes, and perhaps a small number of those properties were in the unorganized region. They were allowed to shoot, and in the midst of all these neighborhoods, there are churches and daycare centers and schools that must go on lockdown. Families shouldn’t go there.”
If approved, the modified ordinance will forbid, in unincorporated Charleston County, the discharge of guns within 100 feet of any building, residence, or other structure unless authorized by the owner or occupants.
Concerns about careless discharges close to residences and schools, as raised by Chelsea Kirkland, a mother from West Ashley, during the public comment phase of Tuesday’s meeting, are what prompted Moody to amend the code.
“I want to be able to enjoy our neighborhood without the fear of a stray bullet, which is the current reality, and not have to explain to my children why the police can’t stop the shooting,” Kirkland said. “We are not asking for the ban of guns, but rather an ordinance that puts the safety of our community and the children at the top of our priority list.”
According to Moody, “this is just a common-sense public safety initiative in our urban areas, that you cannot discharge firearms.” He also states that the rule would not affect rural towns.
A public hearing and two more readings of the amendment are still necessary before it can be approved.
