COLOMBIA, SC (WIS) – Legislators on the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee are likely to consider allowing some gun owners to carry their guns.
The Open Carry Training Act would allow anyone with a concealed weapon license to carry a pistol in the open.
The reaction to the proposed law is mixed.
“I understand the good faith opposition to weapons, I understand, I understand, but the reality is that this law is very strict to address a specific concern and that it is people who have CWPs if they are going to be criminalized for having this weapon exposed, ”Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, said.
Lowcountry pediatrician, Dr. Anne Andrews, cited data from 2019 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stating that firearms are the leading cause of death for children in South Carolina between 1 and 19 years old, overcoming accidents with motor vehicles.
“The weapons that are going to be loaded are more likely to be loaded, which would certainly increase the chances of a child or adolescent having access to a loaded gun, so that it would increase the risk of unintentional shots that we usually see in young children,” she said.
“One way to look at this project is, what it says is, if you have a valid concealed weapon license, you will not be penalized for that weapon being exposed,” said Caskey. “So, if you stuck your coat behind your hidden weapon now, it would be a violation of state law. We are trying to decimalize this. “
Representative Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, is concerned that this bill would harm minorities.
“For people who don’t know me, I’m just another minority walking the streets,” he said. “I have doubts whether I would be able to open and load the same as my white counterparts.”
Bamberg defines himself as the owner of a pro-Second Amendment weapon. But he is concerned about the sheriffs who spoke out against the idea.
“Minorities across South Carolina and across the country are considered suspicious when they are just doing everyday activities, from running to sitting at home eating ice cream like Botham Jean,” said Bamberg.
Jean was a native of Saint Lucia who was shot and killed in his Dallas apartment by a Dallas policeman who said she mistook him for a thief in his home. Authorities say she entered Jean’s apartment by mistake, not hers.
“Can our state handle this if we now arm everyone, even minorities? Bamberg said. “I want to be able to charge safely, I want people like me to charge safely, but I want to see changes in the account to help make that happen.”
Bamberg said he does not think that every citizen feels comfortable seeing weapons loaded openly around him.
“And we have to consider that,” he said. “It is not our job to take the will of the few and place it over the will of the many.”
Caskey said that when asked when to discuss a change in gun laws during a pandemic, he said lawmakers could “walk and chew gum at the same time.”
“There are many cooks in the kitchen trying to figure out how to unscrew this pandemic response from the state government. I think the state legislature did its job by providing the resources to make that happen. All the problems that we have cannot necessarily be solved with more people giving their opinion on them, ”said Caskey. “I think there is a big argument that you don’t need any type of license, any type of training to carry a weapon, however, we have a responsibility in the legislature to reach an agreement that addresses all the concerns of all members who all the citizens in our state do and I think this bill does that. “
Bamberg said he was not happy with the moment, however.
“There are important issues now that we could be affecting people now that we could be dealing with, but I think we are marching to the pace of an agenda of retreat that I believe is what is called,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the right way to legislate.”
Bamberg said he listed mental health and the addition of the PSTD to worker compensation coverage for police officers as examples of issues on which he would like to see members of the household working.
The state of Palmetto is one of only five states without legislation that allows open firearms.
South Carolina and New York, by default, allow the open carrying of long weapons, unless companies have rules that prevent it. California, Illinois and Florida and the District of Columbia do not allow open firearms.
The South Carolina House Judiciary Committee also addressed other issues, some with the potential to provoke heated debates.
Below is a quick summary of the impact that each bill would have on South Carolina.
Electrocution execution (H 3755)
- This would make the electric chair more common in South Carolina
- Someone on death row would be sentenced to death by electrocution unless they request a lethal injection
- The Director of the Department of Correction will have the final say on the method used
- In the past, death sentences in South Carolina have been suspended due to a lack of supplies for lethal injection
South Carolina Religious Freedom Act (H 3105)
- This bill would consider religious services “an essential service”
- During a state of emergency, religious institutions must be allowed to remain open
- Religious institutions have never been forced to close in South Carolina, but the bill’s sponsor said he is concerned that other states have done so, and he wants to be proactive.
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