Whether you're a gun owner or a business owner, South Carolina's new open carry law will impact everyone in the Palmetto State when it goes into effect this upcoming August. Educating yourself about the bill's provisions is the best way to understand how the new legislation may affect you or your business.
Governor McMaster recently signed into law legislation that will allow concealed weapons permit holders to carry their firearms openly while in public or in their car, starting August 16th. South Carolina now joins 45 other states that already have open carry legislation in place. Despite efforts from House Republicans to completely eliminate the permit requirement, The Open Carry with Training Act allows only South Carolinians with training and concealed weapons permits to openly carry their firearms. The new bill also eradicated the $50 permit fee for a concealed weapons permit, although it still requires applicants to pass a background check and eight-hour training course.
The Open Carry with Training Act continues to allow business and private property owners to prohibit firearms on their property, whether worn concealed or openly. Businesses and property owners must clearly convey their prohibition with appropriate signage as outlined in the law. Cities and counties will also be able to restrict open carrying on public property during public events with appropriate signage.
If your public or private business previously prohibited the carrying of a concealable weapon, you do not need to change your current signage to accommodate the new bill. If your business would like to start prohibiting concealed and openly carried firearms on your property, you must purchase and display the appropriate signage, making sure it is clearly visible to the public.
The requirements for business signage for prohibiting concealed and open carry weapons can be viewed in the below text and infographic.
Under SC Code of Law Section 23-31-235(B), all signs must be posted at each entrance into a building where a concealable weapon permit holder is prohibited from carrying a concealable weapon, whether concealed or openly carried, and must be:
- Clearly visible from outside the building
- Eight inches wide by twelve inches tall in size
- Contain the words "NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED" in black one-inch-tall uppercase type at the bottom of the sign and centered between the lateral edges of the sign
- Contain a black silhouette of a handgun inside a circle seven inches in diameter with a diagonal line that runs from the lower left to the upper right a forty-five-degree angle from the horizontal
- A diameter of a circle
- Placed not less than forty inches and not more than sixty inches from the bottom of the building's entrance door
Appropriate signage is available for purchase here.
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