Opinion: Photograph illustrates the need for an anti-gang law in SC

The South Carolina General Assembly has recently created a task force to study juvenile crime. Inevitably, there will be calls for mentors for troubled youth. Unfortunately, many of these juvenile delinquents already have mentors — their gang leaders. If we are serious about preventing children from being drawn into a life of crime, we will work to eliminate the gangs that are luring them in.

The City of Columbia Police Department recently circulated a photograph showing two people hanging from a car’s passenger windows, firing guns. Reports explained that the shooters were later seen on surveillance cameras after a drive-by shooting.

For all law enforcement, not just the Columbia Police Department, this is nothing new. Police officers and prosecutors see drive-by shootings every day — one group shooting at another group, their homes or their cars. It is also not unusual for an innocent person to be struck in the crossfire…

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