Columbia took a common sense step on stolen guns. Counties, state should follow

It hurt talking to the stepfather of Ryan Knight.

Knight, who was 16 at the time, had been killed in January 2021 by what was either a stolen or illegally traded gun, more likely the former. His stepfather couldn’t find the words to describe what had happened, other than “senseless.”

The gun had been used in six shootings and had killed two teenagers, including the 19-year-old mother of a one-month-old who was gunned down weeks after Knight when she gave a friend a ride, according to sources.

In a story that spoke about Knight and the other teen’s death, The State showed that a five-year rise in stolen guns in Richland County corresponded with increased shootings.

Late last month, Columbia City Council enacted an ordinance that requires people to report a stolen or lost gun within 24 hours of discovering that the weapon is missing. A person can be fined $500 if they don’t report. With the ordinance comes an education component to inform communities about the problem of stolen guns and the new rule, according to City Council Member Aditi Bussells, who spearheaded the ordinance.

Finally.

The new ordinance, coupled with Mayor Daniel Rickenmann’s gun violence prevention resource center proposal, shows that city leaders aren’t shucking off their part in decreasing shootings.

After years of police telling the public and city leaders that stolen guns are a major problem, and The State reporting on the issue, the city stepped up. Columbia now has a common sense means to deal with stolen guns. Reducing gun theft is one of many factors that help reduce shootings. The ordinance deserves praise, and that praise needs to be louder than the naysayers who will no doubt weigh in.

After talks with constituents, Bussells realized “they don’t even think about reporting” stolen guns, she said. “This will actually shift the norm . . . and prevent low level crimes.”

The ordinance certainly won’t hurt efforts to reduce shootings in Columbia. For the last two years, Police Chief Skip Holbrook and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott have been imploring gun owners to lock their firearms up and to avoid keeping guns in their cars, where they can be easily stolen.

Both have said it’s well known that stolen guns play a part in shootings, whether it’s by the trigger of a stolen gun being pulled in a targeted shooting or a street deal to sell a stolen gun that turns into a shooting.

Critics of the ordinance, who are likely to be gun advocates, will undoubtedly say that the fee for not reporting penalizes the victim of a crime. It’s not a logical leap to think that many of those critics will also be supporters of law enforcement. If you Back the Blue, then you should be listening to them when they say stolen guns are a problem.

Responsible gun owners should want a law that penalizes irresponsible owners. The kind of owners that leave guns in unlocked cars and in the open where they are easily stolen are making all gun owners look bad.

Bussells said in crafting the ordinance she consulted with the state Attorney General’s Office, headed by Republican Alan Wilson, and conservative state lawmakers. It’s good to hear Republicans can support or at least not oppose common sense when it comes to at least one gun-related law.

“While the Council may have been well-intended, we cannot address the policy but only address the law,” AG Wilson said in a statement. “Unlike our opinion concerning the previous Columbia ordinance that was struck down by the Court, the issue here is not nearly as clear.”

“Not nearly as clear” isn’t a resounding endorsement of the new ordinance, but it doesn’t sound like Wilson is anticipating hauling Columbia to court like he did to undo three 2019 ordinances restricting gun possession. Wilson won that lawsuit.

Is this a law that Republicans and Democrats at the State House can get behind? If not, will a Richland County Council member will have the moxy to get a similar ordinance on the county’s book? Other counties and municipalities can learn from what Columbia has done.

Lott said he would support a similar law for the county as long as it came with an extensive education component on stolen guns and anti-violence.

“We see it everyday,” Lott said. Deputies find stolen guns used in crimes and trace them back to the owners who say, “Yeah, I didn’t report it.”

While he’s more for anti-violence education, Lott said, “We need to do all we can to keep the availability of guns difficult for young people.”

Better reporting on stolen guns and understanding the crimes they’re used in is a step toward that kind of prevention.

The Columbia ordinance isn’t perfect. How well it can be enforced is yet to be seen. Whether Columbia police can do anything productive with more reports of stolen guns must be tested. People willing to use guns in crimes aren’t likely to report when one’s been stolen.

But the ordinance is a step in the right direction that can be amended and built on in time.

South Carolina, its counties, cities and towns can’t pretend like the problems caused by stolen guns are just going to go away. Action like that done in Columbia must be taken.