SC AG Wilson slams Columbia’s emergency gun ban in opinion

A court would find unconstitutional an emergency ordinance Columbia City Council passed earlier this month banning weapons around the S.C. State House, the S.C. Attorney General said in an opinion issued Monday.

Attorney General Alan Wilson’s opinion came in response to the temporary measure, passed July 9 by council, banning weapons in a 250-foot exclusion zone around the capitol. Members said they were heeding the advice of law enforcement officials, who warned that armed and possibly dangerous people were headed to Columbia July 10 for the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House.

The measure would have given police the right within the exclusion zone to check out people suspected of possibly carrying concealed weapons and to arrest them.

But Wilson’s opinion upheld the rights of people with concealed carry weapons permits to carry their hidden guns just off State House grounds – a decision sure to be hailed by gun rights advocates, who had called council’s ordinance illegal.

While council’s measure was intended to last only until Aug. 9 – after planned rallies by the Ku Klux Klan and New Black Panther Party – a check of Tuesday’s agenda shows members may consider repealing the gun ordinance, now just 12 days old.

Wilson’s opinion, written by his Solicitor General Robert Cook, said notwithstanding any danger posed by extremists, City Council lacks the power to pass an emergency ordinance to protect life or property.

“We certainly understand the motive of the Columbia City Council in adopting the ordinance – to prevent violence,” the opinion said.

Nonetheless, the opinion said, the State already has jurisdiction over threatening behavior in the area around the State House, and local governments cannot pass legislation that supersedes state law.

“The General Assembly has enacted a comprehensive set of laws punishing the unlawful carrying of firearms, yet protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners and others such as military personnel,” the opinion said. “This Office strongly supports the Second Amendment (of the U.S. Constitution).”

Wilson’s opinion was requested by State Sen. Ronnie Cromer, R-Newberry. An attorney general’s opinion does not have the force of law, but courts can potentially give it considerable weight in reaching a decision.

A Lexington County resident who is a licensed concealed weapon permit carrier has filed a lawsuit against the city in Richland County state civil court over the law. The status of that case was not known Monday.

“Unless prohibited by a valid law, I always carry at least one firearm on my person or in my car,” Walid Hakim said in an affidavit attached to his lawsuit.

A council member said at the time the measure was passed that members had checked state law and determined they were allowed to pass the gun measure on a temporary – not permanent – emergency basis.

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 8:35 PM with the headline "SC AG Wilson slams Columbia’s emergency gun ban in opinion."