A New York Times editorial suggests the April 10 murder-suicide in California shines a light on the danger of a “laissez-faire” bill that would allow law-abiding South Carolinians to carry guns for self-defense without a permit.
Think about the NYT’s logic–The fact that a husband shot and killed his wife, then himself, in a state where it is extremely difficult to carry a gun for self-defense proves it is dangerous to make it easier to carry guns for self-defense in South Carolina. The argument is not congruent.
On April 6 Breitbart News reported the South Carolina House passed legislation to abolish the concealed carry permit requirement in that state. The NYT editorial addressed the legislation by suggesting South Carolina lawmakers “yielded once more to the National Rifle Association’s agenda to freely arm the public.”
NYT reminded everyone of the June 17, 2015 attack on innocents at Charleston’s Emmanuel A.M.E. Church, but did not mention that the churchgoers were unarmed nor did it explain why making it easier for law-abiding citizens to be armed for self-defense is misguided.
Then the NYT referenced the April 10 California murder-suicide, saying, “The toll the proliferation of guns makes on the nation was made clear yet again on Monday when gunfire broke out at an elementary school in San Bernardino, Calif., leaving two adults dead and one child dead and one student critically injured.”
Think about it–California has universal background checks, firearm registration, firearm confiscation laws, an “assault weapons” ban, a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, and a “good cause” requirement for issuance of a concealed carry permit. The “good cause” requirement means law-abiding Californians are not allowed to carry guns for self-defense by birthright. Rather, they have to prove they have a good reason to carry a gun. This requirement has enabled anti-gun California politicians to keep the number of permits issued at about 80,000.
That means only about 80,000 out of a population of more than 39 million Californians can legally carry a gun for self-defense. South Carolina does not want to end up in a similar situation, where the vast majority of law-abiding residents are not allowed to be armed in public for defense of themselves and their families.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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