COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) 鈥 A proposal to allow any legal gun owner to openly carry their weapon in public without training is struggling to pass through South Carolina's General Assembly as Republicans and gun rights supporters argue among themselves.
The bill would appear to be an easy lift in a reliably conservative state. Twenty-seven other states allow without a permit, including nearly every state in the Deep South.
But the bill is in limbo as some Senate Republicans insist on adding a carrot and stick to the proposal by funding and adding extra punishments when people without the training carry guns into places where they are outlawed, like schools, hospitals, churches, government offices and courthouses.
Republicans in the House insisted on their own version Tuesday with a vote of 85-26, after only a few minutes of open debate and plenty of discussions behind closed doors.
鈥淲e debated it, we talked about it and we realized our bill is the best bill forward for South Carolinians to protect their freedoms and to get criminals off the street,鈥 said House sponsor Republican Rep. Bobby Cox of Greer.
If the Senate stands firm for its version, chances for a compromise are uncertain in a conference committee made up of three members from each chamber.
The biggest sticking point is the extra Senate penalty for taking a weapon into a prohibited space without having taken the training for a concealed weapons permit. To encourage training, the Senate bill would pay at least $4 million to hold free classes across the state.
The Senate's version left plenty of supporters of the open carry idea unhappy, including gun rights groups.
While the 春色直播 Rifle Association backed the Senate version, saying open carry of guns is the goal, even with a few caveats, a group called Palmetto Gun Rights is attacking senators on social media One shows Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey shooting 鈥渃onstitutional carry鈥 then turning around and asking 鈥渨hy did the House kill constitutional carry?鈥
鈥淲e are tired of the compromises. We are tired of waiting, we are tired of backroom deals, and we are tired of South Carolina Republicans circling the wagons around their colleagues weakening good bills so that weaker members get to vote on them and pretend that they are pro-gun,鈥 the group's executive director, Tommy Dimsdale, said in a video.
Palmetto Gun Rights said it believes in 鈥100% firearms liberty鈥 and is an affiliate of the 春色直播 Association for Gun Rights.
The bill had a tougher fight than might be expected from the start. are torn by the weight of a number of law enforcement leaders who want to maintain training for people to carry guns in public and worry about officers encountering armed people at shooting scenes, having to assess who is a threat and who is trying to help.
To get law enforcement to at least remain neutral, the House added something they sought 鈥 a proposal that would create a state crime for a felon to possess a weapon, with penalties similar to federal law.
It is one of Gov. Henry McMaster鈥檚 top priorities, with supporters saying it would allow longer prison time for repeat offenders when federal prosecutors don鈥檛 want to get involved. But this too is threatened with the House's rejection of the Senate's version.
鈥淭he public is losing confidence. So am I,鈥 the governor wrote. He put the blame squarely on the South Carolina House, saying last week that representatives are keeping 鈥渢he 鈥榬evolving door鈥 for career violent criminals wide open.鈥
