Neal and Melissa Seaman
http://PublicRights. Org
Loris SC 29569
Email Neal Seaman or Call 843-716-0511

Re: two actions being taken in Horry County (SC) and Loris Town South Carolina relating to the Safety Ordinance (editor summary letter for the newspapers will be out and up tonight)

Note about Loris Public Safety Committee: We had a meeting with the Loris Public Safety Committee 6/7/05 received no response on information submitted or answers from the Committee about what action they were going to take on the Ordinance. After many inquiries that we have made about the progress of our concerns we now have to bypass the Committee, and on September 6, 2005, we will attend the full City Council Meeting and resubmit our proposals.

Letter to the Editor (special note this week 08/20/05 Fox News will be interviewing the Mayor and Sheriff of Kennesaw on how great their Ordinance has worked):

Re: Horry County Public Safety Committee and the Safety Ordinance

On August 8, 2005 my wife and I listened with complete astonishment to a ruling made by the Horry County Public Safety Committee on vetoing a go ahead for the Safety Ordinance to be brought in front of the full County Council to have it aired as a voting agenda. This new ordinance would have cost the county no monies to initiate, no monies to upkeep, not a penny for the taxpayer to outlay, no extra police and police cars, cut out the special interests groups relating to crime in the county, no tax increases, cost would be zero. Yet this ordinance would have lowered crime, would have lowered substantial municipal outlays of money and saved tax dollars for: operating costs as far as police calls, etc., lowered hospital costs and private property damages, overall would make the county, due to the criminal element leaving, more cost efficient and safer (Kennesaw's crime numbers saw an 80% drop the first year, a couple of years later it decreased into the single digits and has stayed there in the basement numbers since its initiation). Other benefits that the county would have seen would be (as Kennesaw saw) an expansive growth in population (a 10 fold increase in population-the more their population increases the lower their crime stats went), such a tremendous increase in businesses that they are now building a gigantic business metroplex, extreme increases in real estate property values, transients, bums, crooks, and others who normally would be draining the area from hospital services to police deployment would driven to other counties, crime, slum areas have dried up to make way for upper middle and upper class housing, all accomplished with a simple ordinance that was not enforceable.

1. In 2002, the crime states in Horry County (already through the roof) showed in 2003 increases in rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, kidnapping and abductions, vandalism, and MVT (Motor Vehicle Theft)-whereby for the rest of the nation there was a national drop in crime from border to border in 2003. Continuing this trend in Horry County in 2004 showed more substantial increases in robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and MVT. Almost all categories of crime paled the 2001 crime states. (2002-2004 Crime States Supplied by the Horry County Police Department, the FBI, and SLED-06/11/05). Also reported by the Horry County Police Department an all-time high of 37,006 investigations for the year 2004. Reported by the Sun News (08/20/05) murders are now up for 2005 to 18 and the year is not over yet and we are having an increase of 10 over the 2004 rate.

2. Response police time has gone from seven minutes to 13 minutes. Even with the proposed action of adding two men per district to respond with the escalating crime the response time will still be high. No matter how many men are placed to be a response team, and if possible they could arrive in one minute it is still to late (Dial 911 and Die). The majority battle against the fight for crime should not be fought on our home ground, Horry County; we should only have some skirmishes to deal with. The idea is to keep the majority of crime outside our county borders and just deal with those skirmishes.

3. Again it has been confirmed by the Supreme Court (with many appellate and federal district courts agreeing with the law) that a municipality or other governments the individual does not have the constitutional right to individual protection (again in line with other decisions) On June 27, 2005 in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the Supreme Court found that Jessica Gonzales did not have a constitutional right to police protection even with her legal possession of a restraining order Even with the restraining order, even with Miss Gonzales being stabbed to death by her spouse, her family could not get the Supreme Court to reverse themselves on earlier decisions. The United States Supreme Court confirmed this on July 27, 2005 with a unanimous decision based on many decisions before this dating back to 1951. The police have no legal responsibility, in any municipality in the United States to protecting the individual with or without a restraining order. The police are there strictly to preserve order for the public good.

4. Under our present system of dealing with crime in Horry County the taxpayer is throwing their money away. Under the present system, the taxpayer has no control over his situation. It is time for the individual taxpayer to take responsibility and action for the crime in his or her area. We cannot rely on the police. We must be able to protect ourselves and to have to stop paying tax dollars to a system that does not work. If the people do not take a stand and demand the Safety Ordinance then the average citizen will continue to be lost in a sea of crime that will go unabated. The citizens must demand government backing from the Horry County Council-this sends a clear message out to the bad guys get out of our county we will not tolerate your criminal activities.
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Dr. John Lott's study "More Guns Less Crime I & II (the only one of its kind: a 20 year longitudinal study held to a 1% significant factor, reviewing every county in the United States 3,054 to be exact showed that the "Umbrella Theory" works. In an area whether it be a county or city when the criminal is faced with a chance of dying because they do not know who possesses the guns, they go elsewhere. The county would have a big sign on it "Protected by Smith and Wesson". Even the conscientious objectors would be protected under this scenario. Crooks and psychos will go to the gun-free zones and other places where they know they will face the least resistance: schools, trains, malls, churches, and so on.

Kennesaw's gun ordinance, adopted in March 1982, reads as follows:

Code of Ordinances & Gun Law

Sec. 34-1 Heads of households to maintain firearms.

(a) In order to provide for the emergency management of the City (county), and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city (county) and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the City (county) limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore.

(b) Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability, which would prohibit them from using such a firearm.

Further exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, or persons convicted of a felony.

The ineptness and lack of understanding of the seated Horry County representatives* (these people need a dishonorable mention) that were on the Public Safety Committee as to what the Ordinance was and what it would bring was a true revelation. Elected officials sitting there talked about nothing that related to the ordinance and only by accident did they touch some of the points presented and showed what seriously bad leadership we have elected to our Public Safety Committee. Instead of embracing a proven idea that has worked both economically and defused crime, they gave every excuse imaginable to close out the issue. They stood there defending the endangered species in our county, the common criminal. I do not know what agendas these people are following but it sure is not for the people's good. They, just weeks earlier, approved to give over $50,000 of our tax dollars to an untested (in our county) drug task force but the Kennesaw Ordinance, which would have cost the taxpayers a dime they turned down.

*
1. Carl Schwartzkopf: nonvoting member of the Safety Committee, County Council Rep District 8 Conway

2. Bob Grabewski: voting member of the Safety Committee, County Council Rep District 6 Socastee, Here's the kicker about this guy - He is an NRA Life member & instructor

3. John Boyd: Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, County Council Rep District 11 Galivants Ferry/Aynor. A special note about John Boyd: he was given the factual information about the Safety Ordinance and it's relation to Horry County weeks before the Safety Committee meeting. When I called him two weeks after giving him this information, asked if he read it, his answer was no and by his attitude stop wasting my time. Well Mr. Boyd we are back again!!

The reasons they gave for vetoing our proposal, which they all agreed with unanimously:

1. "The ordinance is unenforceable so they are not going to pass an unenforceable ordinance",
John Boyd
My response: The purpose and practical issue of the ordinance-it sets up the county for the Umbrella Theory which has been proven to lower crime statistics and drive criminals away (Dr. John R. Lott, More Guns Less Crime I, II, Chicago University). Heaven forbid that something could be done to bring safety to the public good that HE COULD NOT CONTROL!!

2. "There is no proof that the Kennesaw Ordinance worked", John Boyd
My response: I guess Kennesaw's population and economic growth, their success with their managing crime recognized at the national level, all the news talk about their successes, must be a figment of our imagination. I better call Fox News this week to tell them not to do the interview with the Mayor and Sheriff of Kennesaw because John Boyd, Chairman of the Public Safety Committees of Horry County, states there is no proof that the Safety Ordinance works. In fact the reputation that Kennesaw has gotten as being America's Safest City is probably a smoke screen and mirrors trick.

3. Bob Grabewski: voting member of the Safety Committee, County Council Rep District 6 Socastee proudly stating he was an NRA Life member, a Training instructor and he did not believe this ordinance should be passed because it will "endanger lives and the government should not interfere with people's rights".
My response: As he stated this, the other pundits were shaking there heads in agreement. This goes to show you the lack of comprehensibility on this man's part about the ordinance. The opt out clause is as simple and definitive as could be and why would this ordinance endanger lives? His the sky will fall in scenario has not happened anywhere else in the United States. Grabewski, by his remarks, has pupated what every other anti-gun organization and anti-gun individual have espoused for years with their endanger lies BS. They hope if they say their lies long enough maybe someone will believe it. As an aside I had to disarm to go into the Public Safety Chambers because CWP cannot carry there according to the law, no infringement intended.

4. "Statistics could be tilted anyway you want" John Boyd
My response: the 23 year old track record from Kennesaw is not enough proof

5. "They had read the information on this site and weren't convinced" John Boyd
My response: By the responses they gave as reasons showed that they either had read the given information or they had trouble with English and its comprehension. Either way these people should be voted out of office. Did they call the Mayor or the Chief of Police of Kennesaw to verify anything? All the contact info for the Kennesaw people was supplied to them. No they did not make the calls (I know I asked them), and they had over two months to make them. They did not call because they did not care to find out about something that could almost make crime disappear in the county. Did they check with the FBI or any other agency, which reviews crime stats, NO. this issue, the Safety Ordinance, was not worth their time to check out. I can only come to the conclusion that they really don't care about crime in reality, just want to talk the talk but not walk the walk.

6. "WE have a wonderful CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit) program here in South Carolina so one doesn't need to pass this ordinance" Bob Grabewski.
My response: Why are the crime stats going through the ceiling with this wonderful CWP program? Again showing ignorance the ordinance had nothing to do with Concealed Weapons Permits. In fact it really had nothing to do with guns but a mindset and a line in the sand against the criminal element. If Grabewski knew anything he would know that concealed weapons permits, in a way, helps raise crime. Unarmed civilians that do not want to go through the horrendous paperwork and intrusion into their inalienable rights, mostly all of them opt out in pursuing a concealed weapons permit. Henceforth they usually go unarmed and in-turn become statistics. At the present time we have a little over 1% of South Carolinians that have CWP's yet the crime is not even dented by that 1%. Grabewski needs a serious wake-up call.
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7. "The opt out clause was not inclusive enough," John Boyd
My response: One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see that the opt out clause includes everyone. In fact the original ordinance did not include the opt out and to make it legal so the Kennesaw City Council would not have a problem they revised the law to include the LEGAL OPT OUT.

8. "Kennesaw had no relation to Horry County and he believes it would not work here even if it could be proven to work. John Boyd
My response: Well Boyd with his infinite wisdom is right on this point. Kennesaw now has nothing to do with Horry County. Horry county is unsafe to live in because of rampant crime-Kennesaw is not, Kennesaw is growing in leaps and bounds and their crime stats are in the basement Horry County's is not, Kennesaw has not increased police presence or raised taxes due to an overburdening crime problem Horry County can't say that, Kennesaw's crime is so low and their ordinance works so well that the police force gives free gun handling classes to the residents Horry county can't say that, and the list goes on and on. Your right Boyd Kennesaw has no relation to Horry County and I will concede on this one.

9. "They did not want a bunch of untrained people having guns", Bob Grabewski
My response: Again Grabewski shows his ignorance. The ordinance was not about raising the number of guns into people's hands it was about driving the criminal element out of Horry County with a line in the sand. But he was so stuck in his distorted mindset he could not even discern the meaning of the Safety Ordinance yet this person was allowed to vote and he holds a public office. Something is definitely wrong here.

In 2003 when the United States had a decrease in crime nationwide, Horry County could brag just the opposite. Rape, robbery, burglary, larceny MVT increased. Then to out do our record for 2003 in 2004 we had greater increases in robbery aggravated assault, burglary, larceny MVT. These two years are not an anomaly for Horry County the stats have been increasing for years. (Information provided by the Horry County Police Department 06/11/05). Provided by the Sun News: murder for 2005 is up from 8 to 18 and the year is not been completed yet.

FBI STATS In year 2003,the entire nation had a decrease in violent and property crime rates (FBI stats). South Carolina, was the third highest crime-ridden state in the nation in 2003. Horry County showed a rise in crime for almost every category that year.
Year	simple assault	domestic	vandalism	kidnap/abd	phone calls	weapons violations	prostitution	drug violations	Total
2001	4430	NA	3701	21	492	99	75	1236	10,054
2002	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
2003	4142	NA	4184	26	791	63	39	851	10,096
2004	3758	NA	3860	27	794	86	45	952	9,522

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cc for starters:
North Myrtle Beach Times
The Loris Scene
Loris Times
South Strand Neighbors
The Horry Independent
The Myrtle Beach Neighbors
Wilmington Star News
The Sun News
The News
Journal Morning News
The Post and Courier
USA Today
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
Los Angeles Times
Washington Post

The Charlotte Observer
The Greenville News

The State
Black News
Carolina Panorama
Fort Jackson Leader
The Augusta Chronicle
The Baptist Courier
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