(Columbia) - In Richland County alone, there have been ten murders in the past eleven days. So far the only connection is that a gun was used at each crime scene.
But some are asking if there could be another link? Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, says he believes there's a correlation between the murders and South Carolina's gun laws.
"Anytime we make it easier to get guns, you're going to see an increase in gun violence," Helmke said.
Helmke said South Carolina's laws are some of the most relaxed in the nation because there's no state background check and no registry that tracks the sale and ownership of all guns.
"If they maintained a registry--had someone saying when they had a gun stolen or gun lost during a certain period of time--those are things that could help police enforce the laws," Helmke said.
Yet gun enthusiast Janet Kelleher says registries won't keep criminals from getting guns.
"If you needed a gun you would find a way to get it," she said.
Instead, Kelleher said it might discourage her family from enjoying a favorite pasttime.
"Then only the criminals will have guns," she said. "It becomes so much red tape that you just don't want to fool with that."
Helmke says getting rid of the yellow crime scene tape doesn't have to mean adding the red tape.
"Guns are serious things. But we can have a balance between people's rights to hunt and rights to have a gun for self-protection...and the rights of the rest of us to have a safe community," Helmke said.
11/7/2006 11:29:42 AM
