Tim Smith

tcsmith@greenvillenews.com

COLUMBIA — A Senate panel has advanced three gun bills, including a House-passed measure that would not allow the state to enforce any future federal gun control regulations or laws.

But the panel declined Thursday to pass a House bill that would have allowed concealed guns to be carried without a permit.

The approved bills move now to the full Senate Judiciary Committee.

Law enforcement officials had opposed both the bill that did not make it out of committee and a bill that was approved and would recognize concealed weapons permits from Georgia.

Jared Bruder, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriff's Association, said sheriffs in South Carolina fear that the state'=’s concealed weapons law is being eroded with changes that sheriffs believe create safety risks.

“Sheriffs are afraid of what’s going to happen in the future if this continues to be eroded,” he told the subcommittee.

But Sen. Larry Martin, a Pickens Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said law enforcement in the state had opposed the first concealed weapons permit bill.

“If sheriffs had their way, we wouldn’t even have a CWP law,” he said. “Law abiding citizens have a right to protect themselves. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Bill to allow trained school workers to carry guns set aside

Bruder said sheriffs objected to the bill recognizing Georgia permits because Georgia permit holders are not required to undergo training, the permits are issued by a county probate judge instead of by a central state authority and background checks are not updated to search for crimes or mental health adjudications.

South Carolina requires training and permits are issued by the State Law Enforcement Division, which can and does revoke permits each year.

Former SLED Chief Robert Stewart, representing the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police, also opposed the bill, raising the possibility that other states might alter their recognition of South Carolina if the state approves Georgia. And he said the bill could eventually lead to the permit process being eliminated.

“This is really a safety issue for us,” he said. “If we do this and you have people coming in the state being recognized with no training whatsoever then next year or the year after we’re going to be here and it’s going to be done away with and that’s really what this is all about.”

But others, include lawmakers from border areas, argued the bill was necessary so that South Carolinians could carry guns in Georgia, since Georgia recognizes states that recognize it’s permit holders.

Rep. Bill Taylor, an Aiken Republican, said the reciprocation issue is the most important issue for many of his constituents.

He said lawmakers have removed the hours requirement for training, leaving it a “joke” for some. He said Georgia doesn’t “have any more problems with CWP holders than we do.”

“And yet we’re worried that they are somehow not trained and they’re going to come over here and just shoot up the place,” he said.

Taylor also said enforcement now of the law near the border is done with a “wink,” with police telling Georgians just to return to their state and not issuing any charges.

The subcommittee approved the bill unanimously, after an amendment by Sen. Brad Hutto, the chairman of the committee, that Georgians would have to follow all South Carolina laws regarding concealed weapons, such as bans against carrying guns into certain places.

The committee also approved two other bills. One would allow retired judges, prosecutors and workers compensation commissioners holding concealed weapons permits to carry concealed weapons anywhere in the state just as they did before they retired.

The other bill, called the Second Amendment Preservation Act, and which has passed the House, would prohibit the state from enforcing any federal law or regulation enacted after January 1 that limits the right of a person to own, possess, or use a firearm, ammunition, or firearm accessories. The bill also bans the receipt of any federal funds or expenditure of state funds to enforce any federal law enacted after Jan. 1 requiring the registration or confiscation of a firearm.

“Other than the fact that it might not be constitutional is there anyone opposed to it?” Hutto asked. The panel then voted to approve it.

“We’ll let the courts sort that one out,” he said.

But the panel was not as approving of another House bill that would have allowed the carrying of concealed guns without any permit. The bill would not do away with concealed weapons permits to allow South Carolina residents to carry guns in other states. The bill would also recognize all carriers of concealed weapons permits from other states.

Bruder said sheriffs have “all types of issues with this bill.” They include, he said, the fact that some other states have lesser requirements for their permit holders and law enforcement officers would have to show someone had the intent to commit a crime to prove a violation of the law.

Elizabeth Crawford of Lexington, representing Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates measures to protect against gun violence, also opposed the bill.

“If passed this would let some dangerous people and some who have never fired a gun before carry a hidden, loaded gun in public,” she said. “There is no legitimate public safety reason for dismantling our current system.”

Sen. Katrina Shealy, a Lexington County Republican, said she recently sponsored a concealed weapons class for 30 women.

“If you’re going to carry a gun, I think you need to be trained to carry it,” she said. “I think it’s smart of South Carolina to have CWP training. Me as a mom, I don’t think we ought to give it up.”

Hutto said the bill is “troubling” because it does away with background checks and training requirements.

Sen. Lee Bright, a Spartanburg County Republican, responded that he hoped Hutto would not have to travel in any “dangerous” states that allow people to carry guns without a permit.

Bright moved to approve the bill but no one on the panel would second his motion.

The panel then voted 3-1 to carry over the bill, where Hutto said the panel “would continue to look at it.”

Senate tables attempts to remove gun bans from bill