why are people so concerned about concealing their weapons
open carry is so abhorrent you have to hide it
freak people
what changed
was i in prison that long you all forgot your rights and how to use them
show me those guns
Posted on 02/12/2014 6:57:28 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
COLUMBIA, SC — S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday that she backs a proposal that would make it legal for most South Carolinians to carry guns – concealed or in the open – without a permit or the training that the state currently requires.
Haley made her comments after she signed into law a bill that allows gun owners with licenses to carry concealed weapons into businesses that serve alcohol – restaurants and bars – as long as they do not drink alcohol and the businesses did not bar guns.
After signing the restaurant and bar bill, Haley said she backs a pending state Senate bill, called the “Constitutional Carry Act,” that would eliminate the state’s current permitting and training requirements for citizens who wish to carry firearms.
“Criminals are dangerous, and I think that every resident should be allowed to protect themselves from criminals,” Haley said when asked by The State to respond to some state senators’ fears that doing away with the permitting and training requirements could threaten the public.
State Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, the chief sponsor of the constitutional-carry proposal, says the 2nd Amendment gives Americans the right to carry firearms without any government restrictions.
However, it is unlikely Bright’s bill will pass this year. It faces significant opposition in the Senate and still must clear the Senate committee where it nearly died last week.
Bright’s bill goes much further than the bill that Haley signed into law Tuesday.
The new law, supporters say, expands the rights of responsible gun owners – people who have gone through the required training and background checks to get a concealed weapons permit. Business owners can opt-out by posting signs barring concealed weapons on their property. Also, people who violate the law face a fine, possible jail time and the threat of losing their weapons permit for five years.
The new law still requires training but does away with the previous eight-hour requirement. Classes may take longer or less than eight hours, depending on the student. And professionals with previous firearms training – such as military or law enforcement service – can show proof of that training to speed up the permitting process.
Drinking alcohol while carrying a firearm still is illegal under the new law, Haley said, adding she wanted to clear up “misconceptions” that the bill is a “guns-in-bars bill.”
“The idea of going into a restaurant and having to leave it (your gun) in your car causes concern on whether it will be stolen ... because as a CWP (concealed weapons permit) holder you are responsible for your gun,” Haley said, explaining why she supports the new law. “When it is not with you, you are concerned about who else it could be with or if somebody else could get it.”
South Carolina makes no legal distinction between a restaurant and a bar, critics of the law have noted, meaning the law applies to bars as well as restaurants.
Elaine Cooper of Columbia – a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, a group that fought the restaurant and bar bill – addressed Haley Tuesday at the bill-signing ceremony, saying she had talked to Columbia business owners that plan on opting out of the plan.
“I don’t believe that this is a sensible gun act,” Cooper said. “No matter how you spin it, alcohol does not mix with concealed weapons.”
“I agree that alcohol and guns don’t mix,” Haley said in response. “They never will. And that is why it’s illegal.”
Eliminate permitting?
Under Bright’s constitutional-carry bill, which Haley endorsed, permits no longer would be required to carry a concealed firearm. The state also no longer would require training for carrying firearms.
If Bright’s bill becomes law, any state resident who is not forbidden by law from possessing a firearm – such as a violent felon – would be able to carry a gun, concealed or out in the open, into the same places that gun owners with concealed weapons permits currently are allowed to carry their guns, including bars and restaurants.
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Larry Martin, R-Pickens, said Tuesday he opposes the constitutional-carry bill.
The current permitting process ensures only “law-abiding citizens” are licensed to firearms, Martin said.
A “host of criminal violations” do not “disqualify you for gun ownership in South Carolina,” Martin said. But, he added, those violations “currently disqualify you” from having a concealed weapons permit.
“Is it (carrying firearms) a right under our Constitution? Sure it is. But it’s also a huge responsibility that we as citizens should respect.”
Another reason not to vote for liberal republicans.
/johnny
i think while there shoild be no training requirement, i think govt could offer certain positive incentives to encourage people to get training, in the spirit of ensuring a well-regulated (ie trained) armed populous.
I wonder how he’s related to Lindsey Graham?
/johnny
Criminals carry without permits, so should law abiding citizens.
why are people so concerned about concealing their weapons
open carry is so abhorrent you have to hide it
freak people
what changed
was i in prison that long you all forgot your rights and how to use them
show me those guns
The opponent who says alcohol and guns don’t mix is right, but perhaps she is somewhat fuzzy herself, for the bill allows carry in restaurants but only if the person carrying is not drinking. Makes sense.
Someone interested in personal or family safety should not be hanging around in bars, anyway. That is one of the most unsafe places you could possibly go. If you want to drink, drink at home. If you have a personality change when drinking, don’t do it at all.
SC still does not honor carry permits from other states. In order for an out-of-state person to carry in SC, you must have a SC permit, and to get that you must own property in the state. That means that if you had a second home there, you could get a permit; but if you vacationed there and stayed in a resort not belonging to you, you could not get a permit. Strange.
How come businesses can opt out? Chamber of Congress at work.
True.
But I agree with the lady basically. Its a right.
A loaded 1911 is about 6% of my body weight. That needs to be on a belt, not concealed.
/johnny
Big iron on your hip ;-)
I know, but your rights go away if you have a beer? Excuse me.
open carry in idaho is the law
sorry
“criminal”
is a relative term
I’ve had one tonight.
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