Will Lancaster County support gun rights ‘to the greatest degree possible’?
At first glance, the resolution seems pretty obvious to shooting range owner Brian Sisson.
“I would think it would be relatively important to the community that their elected officials support the constitution,” he said.
Yet given the current environment related to gun use, the owner of The Range at Ballantyne in Indian Land understands why Lancaster County would want to spell out its take on Second Amendment rights.
“There’s huge concerns for our customer base,” Sisson said. “Here it’s not so much state concern. It’s more federal government concerns.”
Lancaster County Council has a resolution up for vote Monday to support the right to bear arms. It states the county position that it’s “a fundamental right that should be protected to the greatest degree possible.” The resolution urges Gov. Henry McMaster and the state legislature not to take any action that would infringe that right.
Councilman Allen Blackmon put the resolution on Monday’s agenda. Blackmon said Friday he hasn’t spoken with other council members and will “let Monday be what Monday will be.” He believes the resolution will pass.
“I think we’ll see support for it here it Lancaster County, and support statewide,” Blackmon said.
The resolution comes in response to legislative assemblies in several states considering or adopting gun control measures this year that would “greatly encroach” the rights of citizens, according to the resolution.
A Google search for new state gun control laws brings up a long list of states looking either to tighten or in some cases loosen restrictions on guns. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced widespread gun control efforts that include model “red flag” legislation for states that could temporarily bar some people from accessing firearms.
North Carolina was one of more than a dozen states with red flag legislation filed shortly after the president’s recommendation. South Carolina legislators pushed forward on a bill to expand firearms rights, allowing open carry without a permit.
In April 8 remarks on gun violence prevention, Biden said “phony arguments” suggest his plan puts the Second Amendment at risk. He said no amendment is absolute and there have been some limits on weapon ownership since the Second Amendment was written. Biden called gun violence a national epidemic and an international embarrassment.
“We’re taking steps to confront not just the gun crisis, but what is actually a public health crisis,” Biden said. “Nothing — nothing I’m about to recommend in any way impinges on the Second Amendment.”
Blackmon said he’s heard from or about several counties across the Carolinas that have passed resolutions similar to the one Monday. He found a model for it elsewhere, but found cause in his own community.
“My constituents brought it to my attention,” Blackmon said. “I had a lot of conversations with my constituents, and I believe in it too.”
In recent months Lancaster County addressed gun issues related to shooting ranges and turkey shoots. What began as concern for where people could have shooting ranges after a projectile entered someone’s home, turned into rules that in places expanded where ranges can go.
In his mostly rural district of eastern Lancaster County, Blackmon said the zoning changes related to gun rules sparked interest.
“There was a lot of misinformation about what that was all about,” he said.
Lancaster County has multiple commercial or private shooting ranges. Sisson said his place is open to the public, with a customer base of about 140,000 people.
“Any given week, we probably have I would guess 1,500 to 2,000 people going through the facility,” he said.
The webpage for Sisson’s range includes a link to a federal firearm licensing and registration act filed earlier this year. He also owns a range in Charlotte, so Sisson understands how different political bodies can impact his business. He isn’t worried about South Carolina signing on for strict gun control laws, figuring it would be near the end of the line among states to do so.
“They’ll probably be right in front of Texas,” Sisson said.
If anything, area concern over gun control creates more gun owners, he said.
“The entire industry over the past probably 15 months, sales have been up tremendously,” Sisson said. “Inventory right now is hard to get.”
Many of the buyers — Sisson runs a full-service range with sales — are new to gun ownership, he said. Sisson said about 40% of his business comes from North Carolina.
“There’s a lot more people getting involved with firearms these days with all the unrest going on,” he said.
