Take it from pediatricians: open carry gun law will endanger SC children.
Multiple pediatricians, myself included, urged lawmakers to oppose H.3094, citing the wave of gun violence we have seen in our communities, including among our children.
Yet the bill passed easily in a 3-1 vote along party lines and could be approved by the full committee next week.
As a pediatrician, I find the fight against gun violence incredibly frustrating for one simple yet shocking fact: Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in South Carolina and in the United States.
For me, this is not just a statistic. This is a reality that I have experienced throughout my career, and it only seems to be getting worse.
Who you’re calling children are really criminal teenagers, and you know it.
I’ve seen too many children who were innocent bystanders in shootings. Once you’ve cared for a 4-year-old girl who was shot in her own front yard, it’s hard to believe that more visible guns in public places is a good idea.
Because of politicization, this significant threat to children’s lives is not given the attention it deserves.
If this were any other cause — cancer, infection, genetic disease — it would be recognized as the public health threat that it is, and our resources would be focused on a cure. Instead, we find ourselves battling the Legislature on a bill that would allow for guns to be displayed openly in places that are normally safe havens for our children, like our parks, playgrounds and beaches.
H.3094 would be detrimental to the safety of our community, and therefore the safety of our children, for several reasons.
First, research has already shown that a visible gun makes people more aggressive. These findings suggest that simple disagreements would be more likely to turn violent if a gun were involved. An unfortunate example of this occurred this month when an employee at a downtown Charleston bar was shot when a patron became upset over the bar’s earlier closing time due to state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions.
Second, open carry is opposed by law enforcement, including Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds, as it makes their job more difficult during active-shooter situations.
Oh, so we’re back to this? An inanimate object can literally change the heart of mankind. A steel object can make you more violent.
So here’s what I think, Ms. pediatrician. “Anything that can be done with an openly carried firearm can be done with a concealed firearm. It’s an amazing thing that we actually have to cover this ground again, but the fact that someone cannot visually ascertain the presence of a firearm doesn’t mean it’s not there. Any confusion on this fact points to a second-grader level psychological problem.”
And I think you know it. Therefore, this is just a ruse with you. You’re not really anti-open carry. You’re anti-gun, and that makes you out to be a liar. You’re using bad statistics, unrelated anecdotes, and your “status” as a pediatrician to infringe on the right of a man to carry weapon in the manner he chooses.
And I think you know that the things you say happen don’t really happen because of open carry, and the fact that 46 other states have open carry proves my point. Blood doesn’t run in the streets because of open carry.
But again, you know all of this. You’re outside your lane, and badly so. I may as well say “Take it from a 180 pound man.” That makes me as much of an expert as you are.
I’ll file this one under gun control, because until South Carolina passes open carry, I put you in the same category as the controllers in New York.