Opinion: How Isle of Palms shooting changed perspective of one 'good guy with a gun'

Why are our legislators focused on relaxing gun laws in South Carolina?

As a parent, going to the beach with my family is supposed to be a time to relax and leave our cares behind. We worry about typical things like jellyfish stings, and perhaps an irrational fear of shark bites thanks to the movie ''Jaws." But now, we have a new fear to add to the list - the fear of gunshots.

On April 7 on the Isle of Palms, five people were shot on a crowded beach during Senior Skip Day, steps from where my family was enjoying Spring Break.

I heard the screams of terror and the pop, pop, pop, pop, pop of automatic gunfire before I could locate my wife and children.

Like any parent would do, I ran toward my kids, against the screaming throngs of beachgoers running toward me. My wife was positioned between the shooter and our children, within range of the bullets. We ran for cover as the once-crowded beach lay bare, the shooter fled, and the terror in my children's eyes cut me more than any bullet could.

We were just a family without shelter, in our swimwear, with no place to hide.

As I write this, I weep for the first time.

You see, I used to be a “good guy with a gun.”

The truth is that the presence of a "good guy with a gun" would not have prevented this tragedy. Instead, it would have only added to the chaos and confusion. In a situation like this, where there is mass panic and confusion, another armed individual can often do more harm than good.

The beach had a large police presence just a few hundred yards away, but it wasn’t enough to stop the rapid fire of the automatic weapon.

My anger has now turned toward the gun-worshiping Upstate elected officials who think that more people need to be armed. Elected officials who believe that automatic weapons and weapons of war would prevent tragedies like this from occurring – and that a “good guy with a gun” would have stopped the shooter – are culpable in the continuation of tragedies like the one my family experienced this past weekend at the Isle of Palms.

We need reasonable gun control measures to ensure that guns do not fall into the wrong hands. There should be severe penalties for gun owners who fail to secure their guns. We need to ban the sale and outlaw the possession of weapons of war and other firearms designed to kill humans. Let's be honest and admit that some guns are made for hunting animals and some guns are made for hunting people.

We can sort this out and create reasonable gun reform measures. Do our local legislators know this?

It appears they do not.

Example 1: In the SC Senate, local legislators are promoting S. 109, a bill that would allow anyone 18 and older to carry loaded, concealed weapons without obtaining a permit or training.

Examples 2, 3, and 4: H. 3594, S. 3594, and S. 3612.  These bills are similar, but the one currently moving is H.3594, which passed the SC House in late February – mostly along party lines – allowing people to carry a firearm for self-defense without paying fees or obtaining government permission, while also increasing penalties for criminals caught with firearms. House Bill 3594 currently resides in the Senate Judiciary committee (as of April 12).

We need lawmakers in this state who prioritize common-sense solutions for protecting our innocent children and preserving our Second Amendment rights.

As a parent, my heart aches for all those impacted by the recent shooting at the Isle of Palms. Some are healing from physical wounds, and all of us will forever hear the gunshots over the sounds of the soothing waves. My children may always associate the Isle of Palms as a terrifying place, and I will always remember the fear and terror on their faces.

South Carolina must reverse course and work on more common-sense solutions rather than the fantasy of allowing “good guys with guns” to protect us.

Matthew Holiday, CAI, of Spartanburg, is the founder of Holiday Auctions, and the former broker-in-charge of Holiday Auction & Realty LLC.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Opinion: SC beach shooting changed mind of this 'good guy with a gun'