South Carolina Legislature Should Stand For Gun Safety in 2020. Moms Demand Action Volunteers Are Available for Interviews.

On Tuesday, South Carolina lawmakers will return to Columbia for the 2020 legislative session. Volunteers with the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America plan to once again urge lawmakers to reject permitless carry legislation. If you’d like to connect with a South Carolina Moms Demand Action volunteer, please reach out. 

This session, Moms Demand Action volunteers will oppose SB139 and any other efforts by lawmakers to weaken the permitting system by stripping background checks and safety training requirements for people carrying loaded handguns in public. 

Without requiring too much time or money, South Carolina’s permitting system ensures that those carrying guns in public have gone through safety training and a background check. Permitless carry legislation is not popular — in fact, 76 percent of South Carolina voters oppose making it legal to carry a loaded handgun in public without a permit or safety training. Historically, law enforcement has supported the existing permitting system. 

Each year, more than 800 people are shot and killed in South Carolina, and the state’s rate of gun deaths increased 33 percent from 2008 to 2017.

More information on gun violence in South Carolina is available here.