Former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel was on Fox News recently, reminding us again to “never allow a crisis to go to waste.”
It would seem that cities and counties all over South Carolina are heeding Rahm’s call to disarm you, by preparing to use “emergency” powers to restrict guns and ammo.
Union County, Aiken County, Richland County, and Georgetown County have ordinances claiming the power to “suspend or limit the sale, dispensing or transportation of...firearms” if the county council declares a state of emergency.
The cities of Anderson, Aiken, Columbia, and Batesburg-Leesville have enacted ordinances claiming the power to ban guns when the mayor declares a curfew: “It shall be unlawful for anyone subject to such curfew... to possess off one's own premises, buy, sell, give away or otherwise transfer or dispose of any explosives, firearms, ammunition or dangerous weapon of any kind.”
Just because your town or county isn’t listed here doesn’t mean you’re safe. These are just a few examples, and most counties and towns have copied each other’s laws, so there is a good chance that yours has done this too while you weren’t looking.
“They wouldn’t dare take my guns!”
If you think they wouldn’t use these powers, think again.
Saluda County’s State of Disaster Declaration on March 17th, 2020, included wording allowing the county to “suspend or limit the sale, dispensing or transportation of...firearms.”
City of Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin declared a city-wide curfew on March 17th, 2020. This action invokes the city’s curfew gun ban.
“How can they do this!?”
Simply put, they can’t, legally. But like Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin’s illegal and unconstitutional “red flag” gun bans last summer, these local laws and declarations are blatant violations of state preemption law and the constitution.
The Attorney General, as the state’s top law enforcement officer, is responsible for enforcing state law against the encroachments of local tyrants. He has already taken legal action against Columbia over their illegal “red flag” laws, and now his office now needs to make this emerging threat to your gun rights an immediate priority.
On March 19th, I sent the Attorney General an official request to evaluate the Saluda County emergency declaration, and to initiate legal action against the county to enforce the state preemption law and the constitution.
If we don’t nip this in the bud, more towns and counties will follow suit, and soon we’ll have an epidemic of local gun control laws, or worse, a state “red flag” or emergency gun ban.
“What Can I Do About This?”
Help me research this
Go to municode.com. Find your county or town ordinances. If it isn’t listed, ask your county or town attorney. Search for keywords like “emergency” or “firearms” or “curfew.” Look for anything that gives the mayor or the council power the power to regulate when or who can carry, sell, or transport a firearm during an emergency.
Contact your county or town council and ask for a copy of their disaster declaration, if they have passed one, and any subsequent emergency ordinances or resolutions. Read them carefully to see what powers they have claimed or invoked.
Then tell me what you found by clicking the button below.
Sign my “No Emergency Gun Bans” petition
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