South Carolina Becomes 29th Constitutional Carry State

The Constitutional Carry Club welcomed its 29th member Thursday when South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed the landmark legislation into law.

Eligible citizens 18 and older will no longer need the government’s permission to carry a firearm outside of the home. 

He became the second Deep South governor in two days to sign permitless carry into law, following a similar action in Louisiana. The National Rifle Association (NRA) spearheaded the new statute, which McMaster celebrated for its crackdown on violent criminals.

The governor explained, “This new law will provide strict increased penalties for illegal gun use and possession by criminals.” McMaster noted that prosecutors and judges are now equipped with better tools to keep “career violent criminals behind bars where they belong.”

These enhanced penalties were a sticking point with the Senate, which refused to allow the bill to advance without them.

Primary sponsor Rep. Bobby J. Cox (R) told Fox News Digital that the road to constitutional carry was tough but worth it. “Our God-given right to self-defense, as enshrined in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, is unequivocally affirmed, just as our founding fathers intended.”

Three prior attempts to enact permitless carry failed due to squabbling in the legislature. 

But the decade-long effort proved successful this time around when both chambers worked together to iron out differences and send the bill to the governor’s desk. 

Part of the deal reached by lawmakers was providing millions for free firearms training to be available across South Carolina. 

The law also enacted harsher penalties for people who repeatedly possess weapons in places where they are prohibited. There will still be locations within the Palmetto State such as schools and courthouses where carrying a firearm is not allowed.

Possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime will also trigger stiffer sentences, whether the accused used the weapon or not.

A private ceremony in the governor’s office was attended by at least a dozen lawmakers and dignitaries. McMaster’s signature meant that virtually every state in the Deep South now respects constitutional carry rights.

But with number 29 becoming official, that is likely the end of the line that saw 27 states adopt permitless carry since 2010. There are no more states with Republican majorities left to enact the change, meaning further loosening of restrictions will likely depend on election shifts.