South Carolina’s state legislature is more or less owned by Republicans–and most of them swilled tea pretty freely long before 2010. Given the circumstances, it should come as no surprise that some of the craziest bills to be placed in a legislative hopper in recent years have come from South Carolina. However, one bill pending in the state house is simply breathtaking in its sheer lunacy. Three state representatives want every public school student in South Carolina to be more or less indoctrinated in the National Rifle Association’s absolutist view of the Second Amendment.
The bill, the “Second Amendment Education Act,” is cosponsored by state representatives Allen Clemmons of Myrtle Beach, Richie Yow of Chesterfield, and Garry Smith of Greenville–all Republicans. It would require at three consecutive weeks of instruction on the Second Amendment in every public school in South Carolina–elementary, middle/junior high, and high–during each grading period. This coursework would be based on a curriculum “developed or recommended” by the NRA or any group that succeeds it.
There is so much wrong with this bill that I really don’t know where to start. Remember, we’re talking about a group that has stood in the way of any attempts to close loopholes in our gun laws that allow people to buy guns when they have no business having them–such as convicted felons or those with severe mental problems. For instance, the NRA apparently finds nothing wrong with not requiring background checks at gun shows. And its response to mass shootings–and indeed, virtually its only contribution to the gun control debate–has been “(noun) (verb) more guns.”
Moreover, any claims that the NRA is really concerned about gun safety have to be taken with a generous helping of salt. In early 2014, a German gun maker rolled out a “smart gun” that can only fire after entering a code into a remote-controlled watch. That same gun is designed to disable if it is more than 10 inches from the watch. This gun is several years away from being within range of the typical gun owner. However, the NRA and the rest of the gun lobby has pitched enough of a fit that at least two gun shops who originally planned to sell the gun have been bullied into pulling it from the shelves. And yet, if these legislators have their way, this same organization would be allowed to push its view of our gun laws onto South Carolina’s schoolchildren. What’s wrong with this picture?
I know that Governor Nikki Haley is, in many ways, Sarah Palin with brown skin. But hopefully this bill is a bridge too far even for her–that is, if it makes it to her desk.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
