For the 2021 legislative session, Representative Bobby Cox (R-19) introduced House Bill 3094 to allow citizens who hold a concealed weapons permit to carry a handgun in the manner they choose. Currently, South Carolina is one of just five states that do not explicitly allow open carry, among them Illinois, New York, and California. Self-defense situations are difficult to predict and everyone has different circumstances. It is unreasonable for the law to impose a one-size-fits-all method of carrying a handgun for self-defense.
Back in 2016, Texas legalized open carry of handguns by carry permit holders. Despite the usual objections to open carry and prediction of lawlessness by those who oppose self-defense and the right-to-carry in any form, the implementation was uneventful, and law-abiding citizens continued to behave as law-abiding citizens.
While H. 3094 has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing, we are told there will be one coming up soon. Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates.
