By Jack O’Toole | South Carolinians can now lawfully carry handguns, openly or concealed, without training or a permit.
Years of bitter debate over the issue ended Thursday when S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster signed the permitless carry legislation that emerged from the Statehouse earlier this week.
Passage of the bill, dubbed “constitutional carry” by supporters, hinged on a carefully crafted deal that included stiffened penalties for gun crimes and illegal gun possession. With those provisions in place, most S.C. law enforcement officials softened their longstanding opposition to the bill, clearing the way for majority votes in both chambers.
McMaster lauded the legislation’s two-pronged approach in a social media post after Thursday’s signing ceremony.
“With my signature, South Carolina is now the 29th state in the country with constitutional carry,” McMaster wrote. “This bill expands the Second Amendment rights of our law-abiding citizens and will keep violent criminals behind bars with increased penalties for illegal gun use and possession.”
Despite the dealmaking, the legislation still nearly failed last month at the finish line, when House members rejected Senate amendments to further stiffen penalties and encourage voluntary gun training. But with pressure from bill supporters mounting, the House reversed course on Tuesday and accepted most of the Senate’s additions.
The final vote in each body fell largely along party lines, with most Democrats, including Charleston-area Democratic Rep. J.A. Moore, voting no.
“This is just another example of a runaway legislature that has allowed extremists to dictate the agenda, trying to appease the right wing of their party,” Moore told Statehouse Report. “That’s what this bill is all about. It’s not about freedom. It’s about power, and the main focus is staying in office.”
The new law went into effect with the governor’s signature.
Briefs on IVF, energy, abortion, vouchers
Staff reports | In other recent headlines involving the legislature:
S.C. legislators propose bills to protect in-vitro fertilization. South Carolina women, physicians and legislators are vigorously moving to protect fertility care in the Palmetto State in the wake of a Feb. 16 decision by the Alabama Supreme Court to grant personhood to frozen embryos. House Bill 5157 and Senate Bill 1121 in the S.C. General Assembly seek to secure protections for fertility treatments, particularly in vitro fertilization, also known as IVF.
Santee Cooper, Dominion Energy bill mirrors failed legislation. Critics say the South Carolina 10-year Energy Transformation Act mirrors the Base Load Review Act as it involves the same two energy companies, provides for the same energy capacity, allows for roughly the same projected timeline and shields utilities from fiscal liability, The State newspaper reports.
Abortion rights activists seeking signatures for ‘repeal the ban’ petition. Advocates for abortion rights are launching a petition in hopes of showing Republicans that South Carolinians support repealing the six-week abortion ban signed into law last year.
S.C. Supreme Court to determine legality of voucher program. The South Carolina Supreme Court is set to decide whether a law passed last year allowing parents to spend taxpayer money on private schools violates part of the state constitution banning direct aid to anything other than public schools.
Kittredge elected next chief justice of S.C. Supreme Court. The S.C. Legislature unanimously elected John Kittredge chief justice of the state Supreme Court on March 6.
Somber Haley suspends presidential campaign. Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign Wednesday morning in a press conference on Daniel Island. You could almost taste the solemn disappointment in the air as Haley left the race for the Republican nomination, which now has only one candidate — former President Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee.
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