Senate amends legislation

Senators made several amendments to the House version of the legislation, including free state-sponsored firearm training for citizens, mandated reporting of firearm theft, an age reduction for firearm purchasers and graduated penalties for permitless carriers who commit a crime.

After a debate that pitted the individual rights of gun owners and property owners at odds, a section that would allow gun-free zones, such as schools, courts, detention facilities and private businesses, remains intact.

Late Wednesday, an amendment introduced by Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, passed that would mandate SLED to provide free CWP training twice a month in every county. That training would be optional for those wishing to carry, though many Senators broadly agreed that they would prefer those unfamiliar with firearms train.

While Cox said he is “totally in support of ” citizens voluntarily training, he objects to another element of the amendment that increases graduated penalties for permitless firearm carriers who commit a crime, but not for CWP holders.

“It gives more penalties to someone who doesn’t have a CWP if they commit a crime, so it almost creates two classes of criminals,” Cox told the News. “I don’t like that amendment. I would like to kind of unify it. A crime’s a crime.”

Under current state penalties, the first offense for a concealed weapons violation is a misdemeanor with a fine of $1000 or up to a year in prison. Massey’s amendment added a second offense misdemeanor penalty carrying a sentence of up to three years and a felony conviction with up to five years imprisonment for third and subsequent offenses.

In a post on X Thursday evening, Gov. Henry McMaster called the additional penalties a “huge step toward closing the ‘revolving door’ on career repeat criminals.”

An amendment introduced by Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Richland, established that civilians would have a duty to report the theft of their guns to their local law enforcement agency.

The Senate also reduced the age of handgun carry from 21 to 18, a change Cox says he supports.

Near the end of the session Thursday, Sen. Mia McLeod, I-Richland, lamented her fear of the state turning into the “wild, wild west” with the bill’s passage.

Opponents of the bill cite public safety concerns

carry poses a threat to public safety, and particularly law enforcement.

Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Horry, was the sole Republican to vote against the bill. Rankin cited concerns by law enforcement and questioned whether incentivizing handgun training, rather than requiring it, would be effective.

“I pray that everyone who picks up a gun (is motivated to train),” Rankin said during his remarks on the bill Thursday, shortly before it passed. “To all the CWP holders out there, God bless you for the training.”

According to CWP data from SLED, almost 3,000 permits were denied in 2023 and 1,605 permits were revoked. At the end of 2023, over half a million South Carolinians had an active CWP.

At a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in April 2023, several local police chiefs voiced their objections to the bill. Rankin cited the testimony of chiefs from the cities of Conway and Myrtle Beach, both in his district, during the debate.

City of Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart also spoke at the April hearing.

“I believe there is a need for some type of training for safety reasons,” Stewart said. “We’ve seen law enforcement officers over the years that are in this position, and they’re put in that position and they freeze up. I would hate to see someone with no training whatsoever period enter a situation where their own weapon could be used against them.”

Some legislators also voiced concern that the legislation would put guns in the hands of those breaking the law.

“To give law-abiding citizens and ruthless criminals equal access to guns...is senseless and reckless,” McLeod said.

Advocacy groups against gun violence, like Moms Demand Action, have also consistently spoken out against the bill citing concerns for public safety. On Thursday, Devine thanked the group for showing up “every single day” of debate.

In response to Martin’s explanation of the bill, Devine also referenced national gun theft from vehicle data that put Greenville in the top 10 of cities analyzed at a rate of 141.7 per 100,000 people. Columbia and North Charleston placed third and fourth, respectively, and Charleston was also within the top 20.

According to four-year estimates of mortality data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2018 to 2021, 1,044 people die on average each year in South Carolina from gun violence.

Data directly from the CDC from 2021, the most recent available, shows South Carolina had a firearm mortality rate of 22.4 per 100,000 people, the 11th highest rate in the country.

Chalmers Rogland covers public safety for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and USA Today Network. Reach him via email at crogland@gannett.com.