Guns: How Many Are Too Many?

The local press in the upstate of South Carolina is reporting the arrest of a Greer, S.C. man who had a stash of 300 firearms in his home. Headlines proclaimed, for example, 'Greer man arrested; 300 weapons found in home.'

One would think, based upon the headlines, that the man was arrested because he had too many guns.

In fact, many seem to believe that there are limits on how many firearms an individual citizen can own without breaking the law. Such may be true in some areas of the country, but here in South Carolina no such law exists.

And rightly so.

How many coins can a coin-collector own legally? How many pairs of shoes can a woman own before she has 'too many?'

When it comes to guns, there is no limit on how many a person can own. But the press in the area implies that the man in question, William David Delamar, was arrested because he had too many firearms in his home.

By the way, the reason for Delamar's arrest was the fact that he allegedly pointed a gun at a man standing near his home over the weekend. The news story fails to state if the man was on Delamar's property, or in the street, or standing on the lawn next door.

When law officers arrived to investigate, Delamar would not allow them inside his home without a search warrant. The officers returned with the warrant, searched the home, and made the discovery of the gun collection.

Delamar explained that he is a licensed gun collector and that there is no limit on how many guns a person can own.

Curiously, the news story continues to play up the '300 guns' angle, in spite of the fact that Delamar was not charged with violating any law regarding possession of firearms. The story quotes law officers as saying that gun collections must be antique or curios, but that 'there is no limit in the regulations.'

And thus, the only charge Delamar faces is presenting and pointing a gun at someone. Delamar is out of jail on a $5000 bond. And apparently the collection of 300 firearms is a non-issue.

Read the full story here at News Channel 7.