SC House and Senate pass permitless carry bill, heads to Gov. McMasters desk

Elise Devlin
·2 min read
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GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – By a vote of 86-33, the South Carolina House adopted a measure allowing adults to carry loaded handguns openly with no permit or training. Guns would still be banned in the same places they are now, like schools and hospitals.

In Greenville, Sheriff Hobart Lewis said it’s a victory.

“I am certainly an advocate for constitutional carry, the constitution allows us, affords us the ability to carry a firearm, so that’s a good thing,” said Lewis. “It’s about time legislators recognize that. I do think our concealed weapons program for many years here has been very successful with the training programs we’ve had in place.”

At Mauldin Arms, a store specializing in selling guns, owner Jeff Tomlinson said he disagrees because of the way training would not be required.

“Needs to be training, somebody needs to be certified to carry a weapon,” said Tomlinson. “It’s a big responsibility to carry a weapon and you need to have the training to be able to do it.”

Concealed weapon permits would no longer be required to carry a handgun under this proposal, so the bill offers millions of state-funded dollars for free gun training.

The committee behind this version of the bill also approved tougher penalties for gun violations by convicted felons or anyone caught with a gun where they are prohibited.

Lewis said while he’s a fan of the bill, citizens would need to step up.

“People who choose to carry a firearm assume an enormous amount of responsibility, and it’s up to that individual person now to seek out training to make sure they know what they are carrying, and know when they can use it,” said Lewis.

Tomlinson said he will continue to run his business the way he does now, by getting to know each customer personally and learning why they want to purchase a gun, to make sure they’re ready.

“Making that decision is between me and the customer and its getting the idea you know, hey maybe you’re not ready…maybe come back next week and let’s talk about this,” said Tomlinson. “This is a big deal, even if you take someone out to the range and they’re scared of it, it’s a new experience, getting them more comfortable with it where they can carry it everyday, it’s the most important thing out there.”

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