Victory for Gun Sense: South Carolina Moms Demand Action, Everytown Applaud Defeat of Dangerous Gun Bills This Session

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement after the South Carolina legislature adjourned a two year session without passing any of the extreme gun bills backed by the gun lobby. These dangerous bills would have threatened the public’s safety by weakening standards around who can carry hidden, loaded guns in public and allowing guns in sensitive areas:

• HB 4972, a dangerous bill that would have allowed teachers and other members of school staff to carry guns in elementary, middle and high schools, serving double-duty as armed guards.
• HB 3930 and SB 449, dangerous permitless carry bills that would have dismantled South Carolina’s permitting system for carrying concealed handguns in public, allowing people to carry hidden, loaded guns in public with no permit, no background check and no safety training.
• HB 3240, which would have forced South Carolina law enforcement to recognize concealed carry permits from any other state, including those with no training requirement and weaker permitting standards than South Carolina’s.

The South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America successfully pressured lawmakers to reject these dangerous bills by:

• Organizing an advocacy day at the statehouse;
• Testifying against the bills in committee hearings;
• Supporting law enforcement in their efforts to defeat these dangerous bills; and
• Flooding their lawmakers with phone calls and emails opposing the gun lobby’s dangerous legislative priorities.

STATEMENT FROM JACKIE SHELLEY, VOLUNTEER LEADER WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:

“We are grateful that our lawmakers listened to concerned South Carolinians and put the public’s safety first by once again rejecting these dangerous gun bills. These bills would have put our communities at risk. Next session we hope to work with our legislators on common-sense gun safety legislation that will help keep us all safer.”