Within hours of the mass shooting at an historic black church in Charleston by what appears to be a deranged white supremacist, politicians on the left—including President Obama, Harry Reid, and the mayor of Charleston—predictably blamed the horrific attack in part on a lack of gun control. But were lax gun laws, particularly in South Carolina, to blame?
As the Federalist's Sean Davis explains, South Carolina actually has some of the strictest gun control laws in the Southeast. Not only does the state ban open carry outright (only five states do so), the requirements to legally carry a concealed weapon are stringent, including a permit requiring a background check, fingerprints, a state-approved gun laws and gun safety course, and a written and live fire test. The state has also banned the carry of weapons in all churches.
In order to legally carry any weapon in South Carolina, you are required by law to obtain a concealed carry permit.
And what are individuals required to undergo in order to obtain that permit that allows them to legally carry a weapon? State law requires all concealed carry permit applicants to undergo a criminal background check. They must submit two sets of fingerprints to state law enforcement agencies. After taking a state-approved course on gun laws and safe gun usage, applicants must then pass both a written and live fire test. [...]
On top of all the things the state requires individuals to do in order to legally carry firearms, South Carolina law also declares churches to be official gun-free zones.
As Davis notes, South Carolina's gun laws sound "remarkably similar to the agenda gun controllers have been demanding for years." Open carry ban? Check. Mandatory concealed carry permit? Check. Mandatory background check and fingerprinting? Yep. Gun-free zones? Yes.
As Dana Loesch pointed out, in the case of the Emanuel AME Church shooter, Dylann Roof, South Carolina's laws clearly forbade him carrying a gun. Having been charged with felony possession in February, he would have failed a background check if he attempted to gain a permit. The way Roof obtained the weapon is unclear. Early reports said that his father purchased the gun for him—which would be a felony under the federal straw purchase law—but the most recent reports say that Roof purchased the gun himself using birthday money from his father. Whatever way he obtained, it was illegal for him to have it on his possession.
So what exactly are Obama, Reid, and Gov. Riley calling for in this case? The answer, of course, is the same with all of the left's political theatrics: the facts of the case at hand are ultimately irrelevant. All that matters is promoting the progressive meta-narrative ceaselessly calling for more government power over the lives of individuals. Whether the shooting happened in Georgia or Texas or New York or California, the "lesson," according to the pro-gun control crowd inevitably, will be the same: Whatever laws are currently on the books are not enough. And, as Obama said yesterday, it will always be "in our power to do something about it."