SC House Passes "Boland Bill" on Unanimous Vote

Preventing the mentally ill from purchasing a handgun is one gun-related regulation that no one in the S.C. House of Representatives opposed.

Members unanimously passed the "Boland Bill," so named because it was filed in the immediate aftermath of the arrest of Alice Boland for allegedly attempting to shoot several officials at Ashley Hall School in downtown Charleston.

Co-sponsored by Charleston area Reps. Leon Stavrinakis and Peter McCoy, H. 3560 will make it illegal for someone like Boland, who reportedly has a documented history of mental illness, to legally obtain a handgun.

The bill requires that courts report anyone adjudicated to be "mentally defective" or committed to a mental institution to SLED, which is then tasked with uploading that information into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It also states that if a person has a concealed carry permit prior to being committed or ruled mentally incompetent, they must surrender that permit to SLED or local law enforcement.

It also provides an avenue for residents to appeal the restrictions.

Boland was indicted on four federal charges last month in connection with her alleged attempted shooting spree. During a recent press conference Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlet Wilson called for more attention to be paid mental health issues and less to restrictions on firearms.

Sen. Chip Campsen is one of the co-sponsors of a companion bill in the S.C. Senate. 

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham have both voiced support for tightening gun restrictions on individuals with mental illness.