S.C. gun safety act on the table for 2024 legislative session
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina State House has wrapped up its first week of legislative session, and one lawmaker is advocating for legislation related to firearm safety in the Palmetto State.
Senator Brad Hutto of District 40, Orangeburg, is advocating for Senate Bill 848, which would enact the South Carolina Omnibus Firearm Safety Act of 2024.
The law includes several amendments to reduce the risk of firearm access to inappropriate parties or young children.
Many of those amendments already exist within the State House as stand-alone bills.
“If we are going to debate gun safety, let’s have a bill that brings up all aspects of gun safety, even if we only some of them. But rather than just have one bill focused on one thing, this focuses on all aspects of gun safety,” Hutto says.
According to the Giffords Law Center, South Carolina ranks 9th out of 50 states for gun-related deaths. This includes fatalities from domestic violence, suicide, accidental access scenarios and more.
“About 21 deaths per 100,000. That’s a lot. A good bit of those deaths were preventable. If a bad person’s going to do something with a gun, I’m not sure we can ever stop them. Access to guns by people who may not normally come into with guns, those are the things we are trying to address,” Hutto says.
One portion of the bill would require a seller to provide ample notice to a buyer about storing the firearm properly, so it is not within easy reach of a child.
Article 12 of Chapter 31, Title 23 gives law enforcement the authority to seize a firearm if it poses a threat to personal injury or that of others.
Amending sections 16-23-320 and 16-23-430 would increase penalties for possession and carrying a weapon on school property.
Article 2 of Chapter 23, Title 16 claims any firearm transfer must be preceded by a criminal background check by a licensed dealer.
S.848 was introduced and referred to committee on Tuesday, January 9. Hutto is expecting pushback but claims this is where the work begins to through legislative session.
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