Gov. McMaster to hold ceremonial ‘Constitutional Carry’ bill signing Tuesday afternoon

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – Governor Henry McMaster will ceremoniously sign new legislation that allows any adult who can legally own a gun to carry the weapon openly.

Gov. McMaster will be joined at the State House by members of the General Assembly as he signs H. 3594, the so-called ‘Constitutional Carry’ bill, on Tuesday afternoon.

After weeks of debate, a compromise version of the bill passed the House and Senate earlier this month. The governor then held a private signing in his office on March 7. “With my signature, South Carolina is now the 29th state in the country with constitutional carry,” McMaster wrote on X.

The bill allows adults who can legally own a gun to carry the weapon openly and without a permit or training. It also establishes a free gun training program that will be put on twice monthly by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Guns will still be banned in certain places like schools and courthouses, and the bill includes stiffer penalties for people who repeatedly carry guns in places where they are not allowed.

It will also bar people from carrying a firearm into a business that sells liquor, beer, or wine. Anyone who does so knowingly is guilty of a misdemeanor and faces a maximum penalty fine of $2,000 or a maximum two-year prison sentence, according to the law.

A business operator or private property owner can post a “NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED” sign on their premises to prohibit people from entering the facility with a weapon, whether carried openly or not.