A bill passed by the South Carolina Senate on Thursday would allow gun owners to carry weapons in public without a concealed carry permit and provide free firearms training.
The bill was approved on a 28-15 vote after nearly two weeks of debate over concerns from some lawmakers and law enforcement officials about aspects of open carry. The addition of free firearms training led to a compromise that ultimately ended the debate.
The proposal will now return to the House, where lawmakers will need to agree to the Senate’s addition of free firearms training and other changes before the bill can make it to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk.
If signed into law, South Carolina would join 27 other states (including nearly every state in the Deep South) that allow open carry without a permit.
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South Carolina senators voted 28-15 Thursday to pass a bill that would allow open carry in the state and require free firearms training courses to be advertised throughout the state. (Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
The Senate’s amendments to the bill also include a required statewide advertising campaign to inform South Carolinians about free concealed weapons permit training classes and to inform residents that anyone over the age of 18 can openly carry a gun. There is.
The proposed bill would not change the fact that convicted felons cannot legally possess guns, and would also keep places such as hospitals, schools and state capitols gun-free zones. Gun owners will also not be allowed to carry other businesses that have decided to ban their weapons.
The bill would also impose new penalties of at least five years in prison for felons convicted of crimes involving firearms, and penalties for those convicted of possessing a firearm in a prohibited area. It also includes an additional sentence of up to three years in prison for those convicted of a felony. Gun offenders who have not taken a concealed weapons permit class.
According to the Associated Press, Senate Republican Leader Shane Massie said the bill likely would not have passed the Senate without the changes. He doesn’t have a formal estimate of how much it would cost annually for the state to host at least two free training classes per week in all 46 counties, but said it would cost at least $4 million based on the number of concealed weapons permits. I guessed it would take a while. Published annually in South Carolina.
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South Carolina Sen. Shane Martin (R-Pauline) said passing legislation that would allow open carry for legal gun owners has been a goal of his since being elected in 2008. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Republican Sen. Shane Martin celebrated the bill’s passage and said allowing open carry has been a goal of his since he was elected to Congress in 2008.
“I don’t think they’re going to cause as much trouble as they think, because what we have to remember is that criminals carry with them all the time,” the Spartanburg County senator said. He added that the bill was unjust. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but a compromise was needed to get it through.
Sen. Mia McLeod, an independent who often votes Democratic, said she fears the bill would turn South Carolina into a “wild west” with “no licenses, no training.” Ta. [and] The background check was insufficient. ”
South Carolina Sen. Mia McLeod, I-Columbia, voted against the bill, saying, along with other gun advocates, open carry would turn the state into the “Wild Wild West.” He claimed to be deaf. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
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Law enforcement leaders are concerned about people carrying guns without training or experience and the possibility of encountering armed people at a shooting scene and not being able to determine who is a threat and who is trying to help. has been expressed.
Many Republicans initially had doubts about the bill because of concerns about law enforcement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
