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DougGuy
06-27-2016, 10:34 AM
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — South Carolinians with a Concealed Weapons Permit (CWP) can now step foot into an alcohol serving establishment with their concealed handgun. They cannot, however, drink and carry. This new bill was signed into law by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and it comes with a stern reminder.


“This is not a guns in bars bill, it was never a guns in bars bill. It is illegal to carry and consume alcohol. It was yesterday, it will be tomorrow,” said Governor Haley.

So, what’s the purpose of allowing concealed carriers in bars then? Easy — an added measure of security and the ability to keep a designated battle buddy.
We have designated drivers, we have all sorts of people who keep a clear head for the times we can’t or won’t and self-defense shouldn’t be any different.
This isn’t a measure to turn a Friday night drink into a Friday night drink and carry. This bill does give us the ability to legally defend ourselves and our family. We should put it to good use.

As we’ve found out from the Orlando shooting (http://concealednation.org/2016/06/orlando-mass-shooting-in-gay-club-leaves-50-dead-53-injured/), soft targets are all the rage for bad guys looking for a body count. A bar or nightclub is an ideal place to shoot up because law-abiding carriers who are enjoying the night are probably not going to come armed. That leaves it in the hands of other lesser bad guys and those who take a gray stance on the law to defend themselves.

While we don’t anticipate any heroes emerging because of this bill, it’s one more measure that we believe is meant to be a deterrence to bad guys with an axe to grind. If you’re a bad guy and you think heading into a bar to target patrons is a good idea, now you’re going to have to contend with that which you cannot see — the concealed carrier.

However, according to that same bill, restaurants and bars are still allowed to ban firearms. This will include those with a South Carolina CWP. So, if you’re in South Carolina, make sure to pay attention to signs indicating whether or not a gun is allowed on the premises. As much as it pains us to say, law abiding citizens follow the law. Criminals, unfortunately, are under no such auspices.

Edit: In NC and SC any signage prohibiting firearms carries the letter of the law. You can be charged with a criminal offense to carry your CCW into an establishment that has signs posted.

44man
06-27-2016, 12:11 PM
Good but still stupid, many can have a drink and be safe. But to ban firearms is just an invitation to horrors. If I owned a store, you better carry. My sign would be "Guns welcome."
In WV we had the right to open carry and now we can carry concealed without a permit and a few other states recognize it. But going into the hospital to see the gun free zone upset me. The most valuable people we have are health care givers. Hey doc, strap a gun on.

ohiomadman
06-27-2016, 06:01 PM
Ohio did the same thing about a year or two ago. You can carry but no alcohol.

Moonie
06-28-2016, 01:37 PM
Welcome, NC passed it a few years ago, and I'm sure the anti's were dissappointed blood didn't run in the streets as they predicted...

shooterg
06-28-2016, 02:08 PM
Oops ! Been like that in VA a while, but I just may have been carrying at Myrtle Beach by accident for a few years !
My wife has a few cold ones, I'm just eating shrimp and crabs with ice tea anyway.

rugerdude
06-29-2016, 01:06 AM
Georgia passed legislation similar to that a few years ago. Biggest reasoning was that before, you couldn't carry into ANY business that served alcohol. So that effectively ruled out most restaurants as well as bars. New law changed that and also allowed carrying in state parks and churches.

shooterg
06-29-2016, 01:22 PM
And, AMAZINGLY, no wild shootouts followed in any of these states !

flyingrhino
07-01-2016, 12:42 PM
Somebody else said something to me about this...that they saw it on the news. In February of 2014 Gov. Haley signed Senate bill 308 authorizing this. I don't know if I missed something along the way. I am a CCW permit holder in SC.

Houndog
07-01-2016, 10:04 PM
Tennessee has the same law with the same restrictions. We can also carry in parks, local, state and national (Smokey Mountain National Park), AND in if you work in a school you are now allowed to carry on campus with a CCW permit effective today! The thing is the less restrictive our gun laws get the lower the violent crime rate gets, It looks like the democrap kooks that run many of our larger cities would wake up and see what's working elsewere and start fixing things.

leeggen
07-01-2016, 11:40 PM
Sometimes I think that these politicians that pass these bills are just waiting for a shootout so they can say "See I told you this would happen if we allowed these clowns to carry in bars". I think it is a good deturant and more should follow, but knowing NYC and some others they will never get the idea let alone the legislation.
CD