By Eric Egan
eegan@abcnews4.com
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) -- The ‘Boland Bill' took another step closer to becoming law.
State senators gathered in Columbia Wednesday morning, their debate centered on the state senate's version of the ‘Boland Bill', a proposed law to improve South Carolina's reporting, concerning the mentally ill and gun purchases.
The senate subcommittee meeting is a sign of the growing support for the Boland bills. Lawmakers said it's a common thing to have these companion bills in both the House and the Senate. And it's good news for those who want the legislation passed.
Police said Alice Boland tried and failed to fire a gun outside Ashley Hall School earlier this year. Since then, more than 80 Ashley Hall parents, led by a smaller group of mother, have demanded change.
"I can tell you this is pretty easy, we haven't spoken to anyone, anyone who doesn't understand that Alice Boland should have not been able to buy a gun," said Ashley Hall mother, Michel Faliero.
Faliero, with three other Ashley Hall moms, spoke before a senate committee Wednesday.
The senators have listened to Faliero, as well as the state attorney general, who got behind a very similar bill last month.
"Usually the bill that gets passed the earliest is usually the vehicle that becomes the law," said State Senator, Chip Campsen.
The House and Senate have both filed bills. They both are meant to better report people with mental illness to a federal database, to keep guns out of their hands. It's a law Faliero said must be in place to prevent what could've happened at Ashley Hall.
"Because we want to make sure Alice Boland would be included and people like her, as many of them as possible would be included," Faliero said.
Campsen, along with Charleston area Senator Paul Thurmond, said they want to learn from the House's ‘Boland Bill' and work together, so the best version can pass.
"Some folks may look at this and say, or think that we're stalling because of all the questions," Campsen said. "That's not the case at all. What we're doing is trying to get the bill right."
The senate subcommittee will likely meet in Columbia again, in about two weeks to continue this process.
ABC News 4 has tried on several occasions to contact Governor Nikki Haley's office for her position on the Boland bills. The efforts have been unsuccessful.
Sen. Campsen meeting with parents from Ashley Hall School (WCIV)
