海角大神

Hillary Clinton鈥檚 48-point victory over rival Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary here Saturday was categorical by a host of measures. On issues ranging from foreign policy to race relations, voters chose the former secretary of State by huge margins.

Within those , Mrs. Clinton also won big among another group: Those who favored reducing gun violence over gun rights chose her by a 50 point margin. And 81 percent of voters prioritized reducing gun violence.

In a state that saw two high-profile shootings last year 鈥� the killing of motorist Walter Scott by a policeman and the murder of nine churchgoers by a white supremacist in Charleston 鈥� the issue was emotionally resonant. Yet interviews with voters Saturday offer a more nuanced picture than the numbers themselves.

They suggest that South Carolina Democrats鈥� overwhelming desire to rein in gun violence is not all anti-Second Amendment crusading. South Carolina, after all, is steeped in the Southern hunting culture. Even Democrats carry.

Instead, South Carolina Democrats interviewed at Saturday鈥檚 polls offer something of a middle view on gun rights 鈥� supportive of the right to bear arms, but feeling that a line has been crossed and needs to be addressed.聽

Twenty-something Graham Holson pulls up to vote in Edgefield, S.C., in a jacked-up white pickup truck with a goofy pit bull riding shotgun. He claims he has 鈥渢ons of guns 鈥� handguns, rifles, you name it.鈥� A self-described white 鈥渃ountry boy,鈥� he also has a concealed carry permit, which means, 鈥淵ou won鈥檛 know when I鈥檓 carrying, which is how it should be.鈥�

Yet Mr. Holson, a Sanders supporter, joined other primary voters, most of them African-American, in welcoming Clinton鈥檚 foray into the gun culture wars, suggesting, in his view, that America鈥檚 gun violence might be softening some hard-line views on gun ownership.

He said he鈥檚 open to stricter background checks to weed out 鈥減otential nut cases鈥� and even reviving the Bill-Clinton-era assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004 after 10 years.

鈥淎s a country we鈥檙e becoming a cultural no-man鈥檚-land where every house is a militia, and that鈥檚 not good,鈥� says Holson. 鈥淎lso, I don鈥檛 understand these banana clips that are this long 鈥� I have no need to kill 20 people in 20 seconds.鈥�

On Thursday, a high-powered assault weapon was used by a man to kill four people and hurt another 14 in Hesston, Kan. Clinton has also spoken out against allowing domestic abusers to own weapons, a point punctuated by the fact that the Kansas shooter started firing at people after being served a restraining order filed by a scared girlfriend.

Vowing to continue President Obama鈥檚 efforts to improve background checks, Clinton has until now used the gun issue primarily as a wedge issue to attack Mr. Sanders, who in 2005 voted against putting more responsibility on gun manufacturers for the safety of their product.

And last week, Clinton reminded South Carolina voters that Sanders had supported what鈥檚 come to be called the 鈥淐harleston loophole鈥� that allowed Dylann Roof, the accused Charleston shooter, to acquire a gun despite having a criminal record.

鈥淭he killer in Charleston who bought that gun 鈥� if they had spent a little more time, it would鈥檝e been discovered,鈥� Clinton said. 鈥淗e should not have been able to buy the gun because he had a federal record.鈥�

Clinton鈥檚 campaign pushback against American gun culture is bound to clash with a political reality: Only 12 years after the assault weapons ban sunsetted, the AR-15 鈥� a militarized rifle 鈥� has become 鈥淎merica鈥檚 gun,鈥� as Normal, Ill., gun shop owner Stephen Stewart recently.

"It's a favorite among sportsmen, target shooters and competitors,鈥� Mr. Stewart added. "It's also popular as a home defense platform."

The NRA and other gun rights groups oppose gun control proposals on principle, saying they鈥檙e all part of a slippery slope toward all-out gun confiscation. Moreover, tightening gun-ownership restrictions are likely to be used by the government to target certain kinds of people for confiscation, they believe.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 silly,鈥� says Kent Bacon, a former Edgefield County commissioner, who voted on Saturday for Clinton. 鈥淣obody is talking about taking people鈥檚 guns away, in part because the country wouldn鈥檛 stand for it.聽 Heck, I wouldn鈥檛 stand for it. But that doesn鈥檛 mean we just sit here and do nothing.鈥�

The issue might not translate well in the general election, where conservatives strongly favor gun rights. But Clinton鈥檚 message of new constraints on gun ownership had appeal among at least a subset of Second Amendment supporters here.

Guns are 鈥減art of why domestic terrorism is a far bigger problem than ISIS,鈥� says Eugene Spann, a black Democratic voter who says he supports the Second Amendment鈥檚 right to 鈥渂ear arms.鈥�

Deborah Holloway, an African-American union organizer in Aiken, S.C., agrees. She says people should absolutely be able to own a handgun for self-defense, but only if they meet a high standard of responsibility and good citizenship.

鈥淕uns in the wrong hands is really the issue.鈥澛�