South Carolina

Confirmed directly from the official South Carolina Legislature site: the 2024 South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act (Act 111, H.3594), effective March 7, 2024, amended §16-23-20 so eligible adults may openly carry OR conceal carry a handgun without a permit. Certain locations (courthouses, schools, detention facilities, etc.) remain off-limits regardless.

S.C. Code §23-31-215(M)(8): a concealed-weapon permit does not authorize carrying into a church or other established religious sanctuary UNLESS express permission is given by the appropriate church official or governing body (which is also shielded from liability for granting that permission). Opt-in model, default no.

S.C. Code § 16-23-465 makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly carry a firearm into a business selling alcoholic liquor, beer, or wine for on-premises consumption, but permit holders who do not consume alcohol are excepted; a business may also post a "NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED" sign under § 23-31-235 to override the exception. Confirmed directly from South Carolina's official statehouse code site.

South Carolina has statewide permitless carry for qualifying adults 18+ (since March 2024), alongside an optional Concealed Weapon Permit (S.C. Code §§ 23-31-210/215) issued by SLED mainly for reciprocity. No boat/vessel/waterway restriction was found in South Carolina carry law.

S.C. Code §16-23-20(A)(2) makes it unlawful — with no CWP exception — to carry a handgun into a 'courthouse, courtroom, or other publicly owned building ... where court is held AND during the time that court is in session.' By its own terms this restriction is tied to court actually being in session, not a permanent, all-hours ban on the building, and it only reaches buildings where court proceedings occur — an ordinary DMV office or city hall not hosting court is not covered by this clause.

S.C. Code Ann. §§ 16-23-420(A), 16-23-430(B) prohibit firearm possession on the premises of any public or private school, college, university, technical college, or other postsecondary institution without authorization from campus officials, with only a locked-vehicle storage exception.

S.C. Code § 23-31-215/220 requires a business to post a specific statutory sign to make carrying on the premises unlawful; absent proper signage, carry is presumptively lawful.

No SC statute requires advance owner consent; SC's concealed-weapon permit law lets owners exclude by posting, and general trespass-after-notice law (S.C. Code 16-11-620) otherwise requires notice — opt-out default.

No South Carolina source I found lists airports among the state's concealed-weapon-permit restricted premises (S.C. Code § 23-31-215's list of schools, houses of worship, hospitals, polling places, etc., as summarized by usacarry.com, does not include an airport entry). No statute directly confirming airport treatment was found.

South Carolina enacted permitless carry (effective March 2024); S.C. Code §23-31-215(O) states a permit 'is not required' for carrying a concealable weapon in a lawful manner and that the permit law must not be read to prohibit permitless carrying of a firearm in a vehicle, loaded or unloaded, open or concealed. §16-23-20(D) similarly allows lawfully-eligible persons to store a firearm anywhere in a vehicle.

S.C. Code Ann. §16-23-20(9) bars carrying a concealable weapon into a 'hospital, medical clinic, doctor's office, or any other facility where medical services or procedures are performed, unless expressly authorized by the appropriate entity.' Explicitly covers hospitals AND small doctor's offices/clinics together, with no stated public/private distinction. (Note: this statute restricts handguns specifically — SC law does not similarly bar openly-carried long guns from these locations.)

South Carolina is permitless-carry (as of March 2024). S.C. Code §23-31-215 cross-references §16-23-20(A) for prohibited places; separately, the law affirms permitless vehicle carry is lawful. No rest-area restriction found in the sections reviewed. Verified against statute text directly (though the cross-referenced §16-23-20(A) full list itself was not independently pulled).

S.C. Code § 23-31-215, reviewed directly (scstatehouse.gov): the section that formerly required immediate disclosure was amended in 2024 (per B.3594/similar) to remove that duty; the current text contains no "inform" or "disclose" language regarding law enforcement contact.

SLED's Concealed Weapon Permit program includes a "Non-Resident CWP Tax Form," and the official application instructs "qualified nonresident applicants" to submit a completed Real Property Tax Form (SLED Form R-168) — meaning non-residents generally must own real property in South Carolina to qualify.

Verified against the current official South Carolina Code (scstatehouse.gov, incorporating the 2024 Constitutional Carry Act, Act 111, eff. March 7, 2024): §16-23-420 bars firearm possession on any school/college property without the express permission of the authorities in charge, and §16-23-430 separately bars any person (except law enforcement or school-authorized personnel) from carrying a weapon ON PERSON while on K-12 property. The only exception is a firearm secured in an attended/locked vehicle — and notably, the 2024 Act removed the prior language that tied this vehicle exception specifically to concealed weapon permit (CWP) holders, so it is now permit-agnostic but still bars on-person carry for everyone, licensed or not.

S.C. Code § 23-31-220(B) states a person who 'knowingly brings a concealable weapon onto the premises... in violation of' the posted-property provision 'may be charged with a violation of Section 16-11-620' (SC's general unlawful-entry/trespass statute), and frames the violation as occurring 'upon entry' with knowledge of the posting — suggesting South Carolina treats it as criminal upon entry, not only upon refusal to leave. However, § 16-11-620 itself is phrased around entering 'after having been warned not to do so,' and I could not fully confirm whether SC courts treat a posted sign alone as adequate 'warning' for that cross-referenced statute, so some ambiguity remains.

S.C. Code § 23-31-510(1): local governments barred from regulating transfer, possession, or carrying of firearms except as state law specifically allows. Narrow named exception in § 23-31-520: counties/municipalities may temporarily restrict OPEN carrying during a permitted public event (protest, parade, festival) for the event's duration/location only.

S.C. Code § 16-23-20(A)(3) makes it unlawful to carry a handgun into a 'polling place on election days,' applicable regardless of permit status (South Carolina adopted permitless/'constitutional' carry via H.3594 in March 2024, but this location restriction is independent of permit status). S.C. Code § 23-31-215(M) separately confirms a concealable-weapons permit does not authorize carrying into any place listed under § 16-23-20(A).

No state-level magazine capacity restriction found.

No extreme risk protection order or red flag statute found in South Carolina.

Suppressors are not mentioned anywhere in South Carolina's weapons statutes (Title 16, Ch. 23) — unregulated at the state level, so only the federal NFA process applies. Machine guns and sawed-off shotguns/rifles are banned by default under § 16-23-230, but § 16-23-250 excludes any person authorized to possess these weapons by ATF/Treasury — an outright exclusion rather than an affirmative defense. A separate SLED state-registration requirement applies only to specifically enumerated categories (military, law enforcement, licensed manufacturers/dealers), not ordinary NFA-compliant civilian owners.

Stand Your Ground by statute: S.C. Code § 16-11-440(C) (Protection of Persons and Property Act, 2006) — no duty to retreat.

No South Carolina statute requires background checks on private firearm transfers. Confirmed via absence from Giffords' UBC list.