On February 22, 2023, the South Carolina House passed a Constitutional Carry bill with 75% of the votes, 90 to 30. Constitutional or “permitless” Carry is when a state does not require a permit to carry loaded handguns, openly or concealed, for most adults in most public places, a close approximation of the state of the law when the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. From abcnews.com (AP):
The Republican-controlled South Carolina House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to allow lawful firearm owners to carry handguns openly or concealed without a state permit.
The 90-30 vote brings the conservative state one step closer to joining 25 others with some form of so-called “constitutional carry” laws. The fate of the state’s latest effort to loosen gun restrictions once more falls to the Senate, where lawmakers rejected a similar proposal two years
ago.
The South Carolina bill for Constitutional (permitless) Carry is H 3594. The ALL CAPS format is how the bill is formatted at the South Carolina legislature site. From H 3594:
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE “SOUTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY/SECOND AMENDMENT PRESERVATION ACT OF 2023” BY AMENDING SECTION 10-11-320, RELATING TO CARRYING OR DISCHARGING FIREARMS AND EXCEPTIONS FOR CONCEALABLE WEAPONS PERMIT HOLDERS, SO AS TO DELETE A PROVISION THAT MAKES THIS SECTION INAPPLICABLE TO PERSONS THAT POSSESS CONCEALABLE WEAPONS PERMITS AND TO PROVIDE THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO PERSONS WHO POSSESS FIREARMS; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-23-20, RELATING TO UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF HANDGUNS, SO AS TO REVISE THE PLACES WHERE AND CIRCUMSTANCES UPON WHICH HANDGUNS MAY BE CARRIED, AND PERSONS WHO MAY CARRY HANDGUNS; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-23-50, RELATING TO CERTAIN PENALTIES, DISPOSITION OF FINES, AND FORFEITURE AND DISPOSITION OF HANDGUNS, SO AS TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS TO THE UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF HANDGUNS;
The South Carolina legislature has attempted to pass a Constitutional Carry bill for years.
In 2021, the House passed Constitutional Carry, but the Senate, even with a large majority of Republicans, did not pass the bill. It seems likely a Senator in a leadership position killed the bill. However, the Senate passed, and the governor signed into law, a licensed open carry bill. This is incremental progress. There are only four states which ban open carry, even for those with gun permits (California, New York, Illinois, and Florida).
With half of the states in the union now having a form of “permitless” or Constitutional Carry as the de facto standard of their law, it becomes more and more difficult for Republicans to find reasons to vote against Constitutional Carry. No ill effects have been shown to result from Constitutional Carry.
This year, Governor Ron De Santis is promoting Constitutional Carry in Florida, although it may become only a permitless carry law for concealed carry.
Nebraska is on the brink and may pass a Constitutional Carry law for that state.
North Carolina may have the votes to pass a Constitutional Carry law over the veto of a Democrat governor. It appears four states are in contention to become the 26th state where no permit is required to exercise the rights protected by the Second Amendment in most public spaces.
Every state which joins the Constitutional Carry club shows respect for the Second Amendment continues to grow in the United States. According to a poll in 2008, 73% of Americans believed the Second Amendment protects individual rights. In June of 2022, a poll sowed 83% believed the Second Amendment was adopted to protect self, family and property, and to protect against tyranny.
The legislatures and courts reflect the common understanding of the Second Amendment when it was ratified and as people understand it today.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
We have a lot of RINOs in our Senate. The SC Senate is where good gun bills go to die. Hoping this year will be different.
One thing I really like about this permitless carry bill, as I understand it, it will give 18-20 year-olds back their right to carry a handgun in SC.
I hope you are right, Ope! Thank You for the good thoughts!
Yes! That would be great. Sadly, I think they will have to promote Lt Governor Robinson to Governor before they get it. I believe the current Governor of NC vetoes any good gun legislation that crosses his desk.
As a permit holder from a state that SC doesn’t grant reciprocity, I hope that changes as well. I have to disarm when travelling through SC.
That is really shameful and I apologize to you for it. Over the last twenty or so years we have hoped to rectify that wrong, but again, our Senate killed those attempts. At one time, we had a bill in play that would have recognized permits from any state, whether they recognized ours or not. I hoped it would pass not only because it was the right thing to do, but it would have given us many new states that we could carry in, including Georgia, next door. At the time, I had a New Hampshire or Utah non-resident permit… Read more »
How many times does a bill need to be “UP-voted” before it becomes a law?
There are too many “RINOS” in the SC Legislature. So, we shall see if they let this die a natural death in the senate, again. They “Talk the Talk” but when it gets down to where the rubber meets the road, they fail to “Walk the Walk”. Nikki Haley, the former governor, was a sell out and a backstabber to the conservatives of the state. And now she thinks we should make her president of the USA. When Dylann Roof, the jobless, homeless, living out of his car, drug addict made the horrific decision to shoot up a black church… Read more »
So many negative things about her. The wreck she made of the state retirement system after she turned Ryberg and other cronies loose in it, to burn, loot, and pillage. The hacking of the state tax system records and subsequent “handling” of that situation. Her filling leadership positions in various state agencies with her old chums and cronies and the havoc they wreaked on their respective agencies, not the least of which was the Smith guy from Florida and his damage to morale at DPS. These were only the tip of the ice berg.
I’ve stated this before on my YouTube Channel and in Public, the SC House is largely Republican so getting Pro-2A Bills through the House and House Committees is not the issue. When it comes to Open Carry or Constitutional Carry the Senators in the Senate Committees always kill it either citing false flag death threats or some other nonsense to get out of having to actually bring the bill to the full Senate. And even then the SC Senate still wavers on passing ANY Pro-2A Legislation. It was an absolute MIRACLE that the SC Senate and House passed Open Cary… Read more »