S.C. leaders meet to discuss solutions to gun violence
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Organizations across South Carolina say they’re doing the work to prevent gun violence – and need to do more.
But they say the biggest challenge they face is a lack of funding to get that work done.
On Monday, representatives from these organizations took part in a roundtable discussion at the State House to discuss this challenge.
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They call gun violence a public health crisis – with the prevention organization Everytown reporting South Carolina has the tenth-highest rate of gun deaths in the country.
Advocates say smaller organizations closest to the issue are usually closest to the solution, as well – but often overlooked when it comes to funding.
Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Richland County says he’ll push in the next state budget to change that.
“We need to look at where we’re seeing the most issues, the most problematic areas across this state, and really start targeting out those areas,” he said. “The problem that we have here is that a lot of the grassroots organizations, they don’t have a lot of the resources.”
The director of the Medical University of South Carolina’s violence prevention program also says prevention work on the front end is a lot less expensive for the state than responding to it – with law enforcement costs, hospital bills, and other expenses adding up.
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