Opinions from around South Carolina: body cameras, road repairs, Charleston’s Pulitzer

Body cameras

Some of the issues the S.C. Legislature deals with are complicated by politics, money and inertia. Requiring body cameras for police shouldn’t be one of them.

It is a way for lawmakers to assure citizens and the police officers with whom they interact that they will be treated fairly and respectfully. And there could be no better time for enacting such a law. …

Privacy issues, including public access to footage, will have to be dealt with. So will details about when the cameras will be turned on, and how long the video record is to be retained.

But there are good reasons to pursue their standard use by police in South Carolina.

Sometimes in the wake of a tragedy, people overreact. That is not the case with the body camera legislation. It would be a sound investment in a more lawful, peaceful state.

Road repairs

South Carolina state representatives deserve praise for passing a road-funding bill last week after listening to everyone from taxpayers tired of dodging potholes to businesses that are concerned about possible job losses. Roads in South Carolina are a mess, and fixing them will require more resources than the state gasoline tax brings in each year.

The House plan isn’t perfect, and the bill that seems to have a good deal of support in the state Senate is cleaner and more ambitious. What is most important now as the Senate takes up legislation to start repairing this state’s crumbling road system is this: Whatever bill emerges from the Legislature this year must be veto-proof, and that means it must be supported not by a simple majority in each chamber but instead must have two-thirds support to withstand the threatened veto by Gov. Nikki Haley. …

The margin in the House showed legislators were listening more to constituents and businesses in their area than to the governor’s threats. On its key vote the House approved its bill 87-20. That was an impressive, veto-proof margin.

Pulitzer Prize

The Post and Courier’s winning of American journalism’s highest honor should be a sign that community newspapers can still make a difference.

The work the newspaper did last year in offering an eye-opening examination of South Carolina’s consistently high rate of domestic violence deaths not only won the paper a Pulitzer Prize, but has also undoubtedly put needed pressure on state lawmakers to pass overdue reform in our state.

If state lawmakers fail to pass needed reform, it would mar the entire session and shed light on the inability of lawmakers, particularly in the House, to make positive reform.

However, that should not take away from the brilliant work of The Post and Courier’s staff. They’ve already made a difference through their meaningful and powerful storytelling.

▪ “Always do what you are afraid to do.”

▪ “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Opinions from around South Carolina: body cameras, road repairs, Charleston’s Pulitzer."