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The Beaufort County Council took a significant step on Monday night by voting 7-4 in favor of advancing a new gunfire ordinance.
This proposed ordinance aims to prohibit the discharge of firearms within 500 feet of any building or residence situated in the county’s unincorporated regions.
The initiative emerged following complaints from residents of the Lakes at New Riverside neighborhood, who reported frequent gunfire and claimed property damage. Although this neighborhood falls under the jurisdiction of the Town of Bluffton, the gunfire and damage complaints originate from a nearby unincorporated area.
Earlier, the ordinance received a 6-2 approval from the Community Services and Public Safety Committee. However, during the discussions, the council debated the appropriate distance for the firing range.
Some officials suggested extending the prohibited firing range to 1,000 feet. Still, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office advised maintaining the distance at 500 feet to ensure the ordinance could be effectively enforced.
In the first reading in council chambers Monday night, county officials discussed similar issues, raising questions on how the ordinance is written.
County councilman, David Bartholomew even requested the ordinance be sent back to committee.
“I’m inclined to make a motion to send this back to committee so that we can work on this and properly address it,” Bartholomew said.
While some council members said they would send the ordinance back to be worked on, they didn’t see it fit.
“I’m going to support the ordinance as it is written,” said councilman Gerald Dawson. “Now, I’m open to some further discussion, but we need to do something on the book to not appease, but to actually make an attempt to address the situation.”
Several council members said the ordinance was drafted in response to ongoing safety concerns, including reported gunfire and property damage in neighborhoods across the county.
In one case, a home in Port Royal’s Shadow Moss neighborhood was hit by seven bullets, damaging the exterior and interior of the home while the family was there. In the previous committee meeting, Port Royal Police Chief Jeff Myers spoke in support of the county adopting the gunfire ordinance.
“Both their chief and assistant chief are very supportive of this. It was very bad what happened over there,” said Alice Howard, the chair of the council. “I’m going to vote to support this thing. They had to take cover literally.”
Council member Anne-Marie Tabernik also brought forward those residents’ concerns. She said that several council members have even brought forward similar reports in their neighborhood.
“It’s happening in these neighborhoods and it’s not just one person,” she said. “I think we need to talk about safety. We’re talking about children here, too.”
Other council members questioned how such a rule could be enforced, and if they could legally restrict gun owners’ rights, especially those who seek or live on unincorporated property.
“The last thing I want to do is to inhibit people from using their guns as they intended when they bought the property,” said councilman Mark Lawson.
Councilman Logan Cunningham added on.
“I have issues with when you start restricting guns anyways. The reason for that is if you are going to break a law, you’re going to break the law anyway. So, we’re creating a law for law abiding citizens,” he said.
Despite back-and-forth debate, the ordinance passed and will move forward to its second reading. Chair Howard said they still have time to make adjustments in the upcoming hearings before any official law is set in place.