COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - As debate dragged into a second week on a bill to toughen sentences for convicted domestic abusers in South Carolina and take away their guns, state Sen. Katrina Shealy made the issue personal with the story of her sister who was abused for years by her husband before he finally shot himself to death.
"When you make it personal, people understand," said Shealy, who got her sister's permission over the weekend to tell her story. "I bet there are a lot of people out there who have similar stories."
Shealy, the state Senate's only woman, took the floor of the chamber Tuesday and for the first time publicly recounted the story of her sister's 30-year abusive marriage which ended when her brother-in-law killed himself on the hood of his wife's car just days after she left. He had written several suicide notes outlining different scenarios, including one with him walking to her job and killing her before turning the gun on himself, the Lexington Republican said.
The Senate adjourned again Tuesday without voting on the bill. More debate is expected Wednesday, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin hopes the bill will come to a vote before the Senate leaves early Wednesday because of the threat of snow in the Upstate.
"I don't know why this has taken so long," said Martin, R-Pickens. "I know there are strong passions when someone thinks their Second Amendment rights are at stake."
The main sticking point is a provision that would prevent people convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun for 10 years. Several amendments watering down or eliminating the provision for certain convictions have slowed debate.
The bill also defines three degrees of domestic violence. Penalties would increase with the violence of the attack.
Shealy said her sister's abuse was well known in their family at the time. She occasionally came around with black eyes and missed family gatherings without a reason. Shealy and other relatives would buy her clothes, and her husband would cut them to ribbons if he thought she owned too many things.
"Why didn't she leave? She was scared of him," Shealy said. "He had threatened to kill her and her children."
Shealy's brother-in-law killed himself 16 years ago. But she said her sister and her adult children still struggle with low self-esteem from his blows and his words.
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