Tagged: Guns

Fifty-five South Carolina lawmakers have signed on to legislation that would prohibit health care providers from asking patients about gun ownership. 

At issue is confusion around what is in the Affordable Care Act.

Concealed handguns could soon be allowed in Mecklenburg county parks and recreational areas.

The county doesn’t really have a choice.  A state law last year allowed concealed carry in parks, and the county commission will vote Tuesday night to put Mecklenburg in compliance.

Parks Operations Director Jeff Robinson explains the gist of the law: “It’s okay to carry a handgun as long as you have a permit, unless you’re at a playground, an athletic field, a swimming pool, or an athletic facility.”

Gaston County Commissioners voted 6-0 Thursday night in support of a resolution that calls for the General Assembly to make gun permit records secret. Commissioner Tracy Philbeck says the resolution was in response to news outlets publishing gun permit information after the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut.

"I'm a strong proponent of government transparency," Philbeck says. "At the same time, I think the press, in a lot of cases, have used the freedom of information act to bring forth an anti-gun agenda to criminalize those that own a gun."

2012 was a banner year for guns in U.S. airports. The Transportation Security Administration seized more than 1,500 firearms at security checkpoints last year. That's up 14 percent over the previous year. 

Atlanta led the list with 115 firearms seized at security checkpoints in 2012, according to preliminary TSA numbers.  That makes some sense, since Atlanta is the busiest airport in the country.