Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: SC constitutional carry law changed arrest data, SLED says – Legal Perspective
South Carolina residents violated weapon laws more and more frequently for 10 consecutive years — until 2024.
Breaking laws about firearms and other deadly weapons had become one of the state’s most common charges. The decade-long upward trend plunged by 30 percent in 2024, the year the state legalized permitless open and concealed carry.
The stark decrease in gun charges reflects how the law changed who officers can charge and which gun crimes people can be charged for. Overall violent crime also decreased by 8 percent, according to the State Law Enforcement Division’s annual crime report.
Here’s what you need to know about how the constitutional carry law has influenced gun arrests across the state.
What did the law change?
Gov. Henry McMaster signed legislation in March 2024 that gave residents more freedom to carry handguns in most public places without needing a permit, holster or training.
Statehouse conservatives had been working to pass this broad expansion of gun rights throughout the decade during which the number of people charged with violating weapon laws continued to increase.
A variety of charges that mostly relate to guns fall under the umbrella of weapon law violations. Examples include unlawful possession, felon in possession and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
The constitutional carry law lowered the carrying age to 18 and nixed the requirement for a concealed weapons permit (CWP), which requires a background check and training.
Though training isn’t required, SLED has started to provide free CWP classes for people who want to learn firearm safety fundamentals. More than 8,700 people had taken advantage of the classes, according to SLED.
In a state where carrying a handgun no longer requires a permit, the strong demand for South Carolina’s free CWP classes signals that many residents still prioritize responsible gun ownership even without the legal necessity.
The law also relaxed firearm storage requirements in vehicles and provided a path for people to get their previous unlawful carry convictions expunged.
More than half of U.S. states have similar permitless carry laws. Studies about the impact have been mixed. So were initial reactions from South Carolina’s public safety officials.
The most resounding reaction was that we would have to wait and see how constitutional carry pans out in the Palmetto State.
How did that affect charging decisions?
Not only did constitutional carry give law-abiding citizens more freedom to legally carry handguns, it also changed how officials can charge people.
Previously, felons convicted of some crimes were prohibited from carrying firearms on a federal level, but not on a state level, according to Ryan Alphin, SLED director of executive affairs.
Because only federal agents can make federal charges, state and local law enforcement officers could not arrest people on the stiffer charge known as felon in possession of a weapon.
As part of constitutional carry, law enforcement leaders worked with legislators to make South Carolina law more closely mirror the federal statute. Now, more cops can charge convicted people with possession.
“If we were going to have constitutional carry for law-abiding citizens, we had to make sure we had something with teeth to charge people, and to hold people accountable, who are prohibited from possessing firearms,” Alphin said.
The 2024 data reflects that.
The number of people charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon was 70- to 80-percent lower than it was in each of the previous five years. That’s because it is legal for most people to carry a handgun in most places, Alphin said.
Conversely, 42 percent more people were charged with felon in possession of a weapon in 2024 than in 2023. Alphin attributed the change to adapting state law to mirror the federal statute.
Taken together, all weapon law violations in South Carolina fell by 30 percent in 2024, according to the latest data available.
Local data appears to reflect the statewide change.
After being the most frequent reason that people went to jail in Charleston County for three years in a row, unlawful carry didn’t make it into the top 10 most-booked charges in 2024, according to data published by the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
The CJCC noted that it will continue to track and analyze data to understand any effects the law has on public safety.