Last week’s shooting death of a teenager in Charleston’s East End was a terrible tragedy. James Means, 15, was shot and killed by William Pulliam, 62, during an apparent confrontation.
Charleston Police are still investigating, and we may learn more at a preliminary hearing for Pulliam later today, but as MetroNews’ Brad McElhinny reports:
“According to the criminal complaint, James had bumped into Pulliam outside the Dollar General Store in Charleston’s East End. The two exchanged words, and Pulliam walked into the store.
“A few minutes later, when Pulliam walked past the house where James and his friends were gathered, they continued to argue and James walked across the street to confront Pulliam. That’s when, according to the complaint, Pulliam shot James twice.”
Pulliam is white and James is black. Fortunately, the community, although deeply disturbed by the shooting, has responded with concern and sympathy for James’ family and not with violence. Charleston Police have asked federal authorities to determine if the killing constitutes a hate crime.
The shooting has prompted discussion about the legislature’s decision earlier this year to repeal the state’s concealed carry law. Since that repeal last May, law abiding citizens are permitted to carry a concealed weapon without a permit or a training program.
Governor Tomblin, who twice vetoed the repeal of concealed carry, issued a statement expressing sympathy for the victim’s family, and concern about the elimination of the concealed carry law.
“I have abiding concerns about the consequences of these significant changes to state law, especially the concerns that have been shared with me by law enforcement officers across the state,” Tomblin said in a prepared statement. “The loss of this young man certainly brings those concerns into sharp focus again.”
However, it’s critical to point out that Pulliam was not taking advantage of the new law. In fact, the .380 revolver he used in the shooting was in his possession illegally. Pulliam pleaded no contest in 2013 to domestic violence and, by existing law, was not permitted to even have a gun.
Nothing about the repeal of concealed carry authorized Pulliam to pack that pistol on his way to the store.
Like many others, I believe it was a mistake to repeal concealed carry. Requiring an individual to apply for a permit and go through a training course before issuance do not represent an undue burden to a law abiding citizen’s 2nd Amendment rights.
All rights have some limitations. Even the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the landmark Heller decision affirming an individual’s right to keep and bear arms that the right is not carte blanche.
We will learn more about the East End shooting in the days and weeks ahead, and it’s always best to wait until all the facts are in before reaching definitive conclusions about the shooting. However, it’s difficult to see how the repeal of concealed carry, no-matter how ill advised, had any bearing on the tragedy.