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Open Carry With Training Act: What To Know About Temporarily Restricting Permitted Events

Act 66, the Open Carry with Training Act, went into effect on August 15, 2021. The law  redefines “concealable weapon” to allow the open carry of firearms for valid permit holders.

South Carolina law now defines a concealable weapon as a firearm of less than 12 inches in length “that may be carried openly on one’s person or in a manner that is hidden from public view in normal wear of clothing except when needed for self-defense, defense of others, and the protection of real or personal property.”

The law also includes open-carry restrictions during certain organized events. It allows local governments to temporarily restrict the open carrying of a firearm on public property while a person or entity is hosting a permitted event such as a public protest, rally, fair, parade or festival, among other organized events. Every event permitted by a local government should now have a sign indicating whether open carrying is allowed or not. A governing body exercising the authority to temporarily restrict open carrying of a firearm during a permitted event must be specific in the area, duration and manner in which the restriction is imposed, and it must provide proper notice of the restriction when feasible.

SC Code Section 23-31-235(c) lays out the specifications for signs that are required to be posted for outdoor permitted events when a concealable weapon is not allowed. The signs must 

  • Be 36 inches wide by 48 inches tall in size.

  • Contain the words “NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED” in black 3-inch-tall uppercase type at the bottom of the sign and centered between the lateral edges of the sign.

  • Contain a black silhouette of a handgun inside a circle 34 inches in diameter with a diagonal line that is 2 inches wide and runs from the lower left to the upper right at a 45-degree angle from the horizontal, and must be a diameter of a circle whose circumference is 2 inches wide.

  • Placed not less than 40 inches and not more than 96 inches above the ground.

  • Posted in sufficient quantities to be clearly visible from any point of entry onto the premises.

Read the full text of the Open Carry With Training Act.