Lawmakers need to close gun loophole

The decision to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the S.C. Statehouse following the massacre at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church last year was a powerful symbolic gesture. Closing the loophole in the state law that allowed the suspected shooter to buy the gun used in that spree would be a substantive move that could prevent more such shootings.

The emotional response to the shootings that led to a consensus favoring the removal of the flag unfortunately has not extended to the effort to improve background checks on prospective gun buyers in the state. Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin, R-Pickens, had blocked proposals to tighten background checks until Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, threatened retaliation.

Kimpson said he would block Martin’s proposal to allow Georgians with concealed weapon permits to carry their guns in South Carolina. Martin relented and promised to hold a hearing on background checks this summer.

But that is no assurance the bill will ultimately reach the floor of the Senate for a vote. Despite widespread support around the state for closing the so-called “Charleston loophole,” it is likely to have less chance of passing than the law to allow Georgians to pack guns in South Carolina, which received priority debate status in the Senate last week.

Federal law gives the FBI three business days to tell a gun dealer if a potential buyer fails a background check for one reason or another. If the three days pass before the background check is completed, the sale can proceed by default.

When Dylann Roof, who is charged with killing nine parishioners at Emanuel AME Church, sought to buy a gun last year, a February 2015 drug arrest should have prevented the sale. But because of data entry errors the background check failed to turn up the pertinent details in time, allowing Roof to buy the gun he is accused of using to shoot the nine victims.

Proposals pre-filed by state lawmakers in December would allow up to 28 days to review criminal records and complete background checks. That extended deadline would have prevented the sale of the gun to Roof.

There would be no waiting period for buyers whose background checks come back clean. This bill would not abridge Second Amendment rights or prevent legitimate buyers from purchasing guns.

All the bill would do is provide sufficient time to ensure that the checks could be completed.

That is eminently sensible. There is no plausible reason to rush a gun sale just because a potentially complicated background check can’t be completed in three days.

Most checks undoubtedly could be completed quickly. But limiting the window for background checks to three days significantly increases the risk of mistakes or missed information that could put a gun in the hands of a criminal or someone with documented mental problems.

State lawmakers bend over backwards to rush through pro-gun legislation, as the bill to allow Georgians to carry guns in South Carolina demonstrates. Wouldn’t it be nice if they would give the same urgency to a bill that actually might save lives.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Lawmakers need to close gun loophole."