Richland County Councilman Jim Manning introduced a motion this week to make bump stocks illegal in Richland County.
During the Feb. 20 Council meeting, Manning, the representative for District 8, presented a motion to ban the controversial devices used to increase the firing rate or capabilities of a firearm. The motion declares bump stocks and “trigger cranks” to be “unlawful and any person in actual or constructive possession of such a device is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable in magistrate court.”
In December 2017, Columbia City Council passed an ordinance banning the use of bump stocks and trigger cranks.
“I wanted to follow the city’s lead and make this ban Countywide,” Manning said. “I followed with great interest the city of Columbia’s process in outlawing bump stocks, and kept thinking the County needs to be supportive of this and do the same thing.”
Manning said the Feb. 14 school shooting that claimed 17 lives in Parkland, Fla., compelled him to get the motion on the agenda for the next Council meeting.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott issued a statement supporting the ban, saying, “There is no legitimate reason for anyone to have these devises, so they definitely need to be made illegal.”
The motion is set to be discussed by members of the Departments and Services Committee at their March 27 meeting. The Departments and Services Committee ― which is comprised of Councilmembers Seth Rose, Gwendolyn Kennedy, Chip Jackson, Greg Pearce and Manning ― serves as a forum for discussing key issues and making a recommendation to full Council.
Depending on the action taken by the committee, the bump stock ban item could appear on the April 3 County Council meeting agenda. The item would require three public readings before final vote.
The motion is as follows:
a. I move to declare “bump stock” “bump fire stocks” “trigger crank” and “gat crank” trigger devices illegal in Richland County. NOTE: In 2010 the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives declared a “bump stock” is a firearm part and is not regulated as a firearm under the US Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act. [MANNING]
(a) Any device capable of being attached to a firearm for the purpose of increasing the firing rate or capabilities of the firearm using recoil, commonly known as ""bump stocks" or "bump fire stocks", are hereby declared unlawful and any person in actual or constructive possession of such a device is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable in magistrate court.
(b) Any device capable of attaching to a firearm and which repeatedly activates the trigger of the weapon through the use of a lever or other part that is turned in a circular motion, commonly known as "trigger crank" or "gat crank", are hereby declared unlawful and any person in actual or constructive possession of such a device is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable in magistrate court.
(c) Violations as stated in Section (a) or (b) above are subject to the following exceptions:
1. Any member of the United States military or any legally sworn law enforcement personnel while engaged in the course of their duties or in training;
2. Any "bump stock" or "trigger crank" device which is possessed by a person who is not prohibited under State or Federal law from using, owning or possessing a firearm, and the device is completely disconnected from any firearm in a manner which would render the device inoperable and stored in a separate container from the firearm or weapon; 3. Any law enforcement officer or department which has seized a firearm, with "bump stock" or "trigger crank" attached, pursuant to a lawful seizure of a weapon, as contraband or evidence of a crime, inside Richland County; provided, however, any law enforcement agency taking possession of a "bump stock" attached to a firearm must notify the Sheriff’s Department immediately to inform them of the existence of the device, the location where it was obtained, where the device will be stored and any other facts relevant to the use or possession by any person.