S.C. legislation addresses changes in gun laws
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - South Carolina’s new permitless carry gun law loosens some gun restrictions, so certain actions that used to be prohibited are now allowed.
Some state lawmakers say that’s not fair for people who have pending charges over actions that are no longer illegal.
A bill moving through the State House would fix that.
“You get pulled over for speeding or whatever, and the officer says, ‘Do you have a gun?’ ‘Sure,’ and it’ll be between the seat, under the seat, in the bookbag,” said Sen. Deon Tedder, D-Charleston. “You’re not doing anything necessarily unlawful or criminal, but just by the nature of not having the gun in the right place, you were charged with that.”
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The new permitless carry law gets rid of that restriction – and people who were convicted of unlawful carry could have that conviction expunged.
But it doesn’t for people who have pending charges that have now been nullified by the new law, so this bill would dismiss those charges.
There is a caveat: If that unlawful possession charge was used as probable cause for another offense arising from the same incident, this bill would not dismiss the other charges.
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The South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association told House it has some concerns with this bill.
“This bill as written doesn’t allow law enforcement or prosecutors to go and look at every single case and evaluate every single case and make a decision. With that, we think that violates the separation of powers in this state,” said Sally Foster, executive director of the group.
Lawmakers have just over two weeks left in the session – so this bill would need to advance through a committee and in the House in that time – or else it dies for the year.
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