Democrat Martin O’Malley talks gun control in North Charleston.

'With Vice President Joe Biden and former U.S. Sen. James Webb dropping out of contention this week, trailing Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley has a chance to make a dent among South Carolina party members looking for options.

On Thursday, the former Maryland governor made his first trip to the Charleston region since entering the White House race, using his time to focus on gun control and what he said was a new round of needed and sensible ownership reforms.

“How can we be secure if we’re burying tens of thousands of people every year from gun violence?” O’Malley said shortly after disclosing he’d visited the Emanuel AME Church shooting site earlier in the day.

O’Malley met with several Democratic Statehouse lawmakers inside a North Charleston church, where all were in agreement that gun control was both necessary and possible in the coming year. Among the planks O’Malley supports are a ban on military-style weapons, ending shielded immunity for gun manufacturers, expanded computer cooperation between police agencies on gun issues, more effective background checks and tougher sanctions for anyone convicted of trafficking illegal guns.

He said all such reforms have been blocked on Capitol Hill by the gun lobby.

And while saying he wanted to honor the rights of legitimate hunters, he was against allowing magazines that can carry large numbers of bullets to remain legal. Hunters “don’t need magazines that hold more than 10 rounds to down a deer,” he said.

Among those who were at the discussion, held at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, were state Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston; state Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston; and the Rev. Joe Darby of the Charleston branch NAACP. None officially endorsed O’Malley but support changing gun laws in the state. “Anyone who talks about gun reform is a friend of mine,” Gilliard said.

Gun legislation is expected to be a significant issue in the S.C. Legislature next year. A recent poll by Winthrop University for The State newspaper in Columbia found that 80 percent of South Carolinians say they support legislation requiring that background checks be completed before a would-be gun buyer can take a firearm out the door. The lack of closing that loop was cited in how Dylann Roof was able to purchase the handgun used in the Emanuel AME mass shooting.

O’Malley briefly addressed others in the Democratic race when prodded by reporters. He praised Biden’s service but said he was just as eagerly reaching out to his supporters in the state.

O’Malley also said he did not plan to watch any of the live television feed of front-runner Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, as she testified at the House Benghazi panel hearings. “I’ll certainly review the transcript and the news reports of it,” he said.

A recent CNN poll of South Carolina Democrats, taken before Biden opted not to run, showed O’Malley has an uphill climb to be accepted by voters here. The survey gave him a 3 percent following, while Clinton was far ahead with a 49 percent level of support.

One local politician who has endorsed O’Malley is Charleston City Councilman Rodney Williams, who said the former Maryland governor is the first candidate willing to “campaign in the cities since John Kennedy.” Adding, “The cities are deteriorating.”

Thursday’s stop at Emanuel AME was not O’Malley’s first. He visited there about 18 months ago and met with the Rev. Clementa Pinckney in the church basement. It was where Pinckney and eight others were killed on June 17.

Later in the afternoon on Thursday, O’Malley was scheduled to address students at the College of Charleston and attend a local fundraiser.'

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20151022/PC1603/151029769