Lawmakers found more apt to have gun permits

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Lawmakers found more apt to have gun permitsAmong ordinary S.C. folks, it's 1%, but in the State House, it's 17%Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. -- South Carolina lawmakers are more likely to pack heat than other residents.A higher percentage of state legislators have concealed weapons permits than average, eligible South Carolinians, an analysis of the S.C. Law Enforcement Division permits done by The Greenville News showed on Sunday.SLED records show four state senators and 26 state representatives have concealed weapons permits. That's 30 out of 170 legislators - or 17.6percent.Of South Carolina's 2.81 million residents 21 or older, only 33,350 - or 1.2percent - have concealed weapons permits."I can't think of anything associated with the legislature that would account for it," said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who doesn't have a permit.House Speaker David Wilkins cited "a situation of knowledge and familiarity with the law and readily available training by some members who are certified" firearms instructors.Those who wish to get a permit must be at least 21 years old, pass a background check and complete a firearms safety class. The permits, first approved in 1996, last four years.State Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, says he got a permit because he wants criminals guessing who might have a gun or not. But Fair doesn't carry his snub-nosed .38-caliber police special because he doesn't feel the need or the threat. Plus, he says, he would "have trouble hitting the ground" with it.Rep. Dwight Loftis, R-Greenville, is an insurance agent who has experienced several break-ins. He got a permit because he's at his office "or on the road late. Those types of things prompted me to do that."Rep. Lanny Littlejohn, R-Spartanburg, said he got a permit because he deals with a lot of cash in his business.Littlejohn said he didn't think lawmakers felt more threatened than the public, but many "are businessmen, they travel, and probably have more need for it."Rep. William Sandifer III, R-Oconee, said he thought it advisable to have a permit, although in the five years he has had it, "I've never carried a gun."He said getting trained through Rep. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, "certainly made it easier to do."Even with permits, legislators cannot bring firearms to their offices or the State House. The only firearms permitted are those carried by law officers, Senate Judiciary Committee aide Susan Musser said. The state Public Safety Department protects the State House, legislative office buildings and parking decks. Spokesman Sid Gaulden says if a legislator set off a metal detector, officers would "probably not" say or do anything.Of the 30 lawmakers with permits, 25 are Republicans. There are 28 men and two women legislators who have permits.Adjutant General Stan Spears is the only one of the state's nine constitutional officers with a concealed weapons permit. http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/gunpermits1029.htm