Opinions from around South Carolina: gun checks, gag order, Confederate flag

Gun checks

The recent admission that the FBI should have flagged a handgun sale to Dylann Roof, who’s been charged with nine murders in Charleston, should, at the very least, warrant a review of our nation’s gun laws. …

The failure shouldn’t showcase what some see as the futility of gun control laws, including the need for background checks. Gun laws cannot eliminate criminal acts. They also cannot totally halt the criminally-minded from obtaining guns. However, this doesn’t erase the need for gun laws that are aimed at keeping firearms out of the hands of those that the laws deem a risk.

The gaps in this case, as well as others, should at least prompt lawmakers and agencies to review the laws governing the oversight of gun sales.

Gag order

If ever there was a case that illustrates why freedom of information is important, it’s that of the Emanuel Nine.

Throughout the country, observers have followed the story of the nine people murdered at Emanuel AME Church as they studied the Bible. They have read about each victim, his career, family and faith.

But on Friday, Ninth Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson put a temporary gag order on any information related to the prosecution of their alleged killer, Dylann Roof. That includes recordings of 911 calls, reports of the medical examiner and coroner, investigative reports, statements of witnesses and the suspect’s medical and mental health records. …

Judge Nicholson wrote that his order was “to preserve the Defendant’s ability to receive a fair trial.” He specifically mentioned information that might impede jury selection.

But the FOIA was written with an understanding of the checks and balances woven into the judicial system. Potential jurors must submit to questioning to weed out any who are so prejudiced and unable to serve fairly. That questioning can be as extensive as necessary.

Confederate flag

Some will say that bringing down the flag was simply a symbolic gesture. But we shouldn’t discount the power of symbols, especially one as powerful and emotional as this one.

The acknowledgment that the Confederate battle flag is a symbol of hate and oppression to many, both black and white, reverberated not only in South Carolina but also across the nation. It has helped spark a widespread discussion about conflicting views of history and how the enduring reverence for the Confederate cause has adversely affected the lives of African-Americans since the end of the Civil War.

That is no small thing. And those who worked to enable this debate by bringing down the flag more than 50 years after it was placed on the Statehouse dome deserve high praise.

▪ “Controversial proposals, once accepted, soon become hallowed.”

▪ “For we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it.”