GOP Sens. Chip Campsen, Majority Leader Shane Massey and Stephen Goldfinch chat in the Senate chamber during the first week of the 2024 session Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (Mary Ann Chastain/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Legislation that lets South Carolinians carry a handgun without a permit while clamping down on felons caught toting illegally passed the Senate on Thursday after a years-long GOP stalemate.
The 28-15 vote , mostly along party lines, followed days of debate over eliminating all training requirements for walking around with a handgun readily available. Advocates call it “constitutional carry” as a reference to the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
Sen. Shane Martin, R-Pauline, talks to reporters Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, after the Senate passes legislation that he’s been advocating for since 2012. (Seanna Adcox/SC Daily Gazette)
“That law-abiding citizen is now able to exercise their constitutional rights under the law without having to go to the government for permission,” Sen. Shane Martin, who’s been leading the effort in the Senate for a dozen years, told reporters after the vote.