Back in 2021, the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas ruled in favor of Attorney General Alan Wilson, agreeing that the City of Columbia’s anti-gun ordinances violate the state’s preemption law. In 2019, Columbia had passed ordinances to restrict the home-building of firearms, to allow for Second Amendment rights to be suspended and property to be seized without due process, and to ban firearms within 1000 feet of schools, even though existing federal law already does that.
Columbia was scheduled to vote to repeal these illegal ordinances on March 1st, but city officials asked for the vote to be postponed in order to draft new gun control language that they believe will not violate state preemption. In particular, some officials want to find a way to keep the provision that designates structures in which the construction of home-built firearms takes place, to be public nuisances.
Citizens building firearms for personal use is a centuries-old practice that predates the founding of the United States. It is already illegal for prohibited persons, such as felons, to possess any firearm, whether home-built or factory mass-produced. Home-building firearms remains popular among hobbyists who like to make firearms that suit their own needs, for the pursuit of the craft, and who like to explore new manufacturing techniques. The fact that some on the City Council seek to designate this a public nuisance shows their desperation to attack Second Amendment rights and harass law-abiding gun owners in any way possible.
We are confident that Attorney General Alan Wilson will continue to protect the Second Amendment rights of South Carolinians and enforce the state’s preemption laws. Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates.
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