Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Guns in Vehicles in South Carolina.’ Guns in Public. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 22 December
Relevant contents
Guns in Vehicles in South Carolina
A person generally may not transport a handgun in a vehicle, except if he or she is, inter alia:
- A holder of a concealable weapons permit and has the handgun concealed on or about the person;
- A licensed hunter or fisherman going to or from hunting or fishing while in a vehicle or on foot;
- Carrying an unloaded handgun in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to his or her home or fixed place of business or while changing his or her residence or fixed place of business;
- Transferring a handgun directly from or to a vehicle and a location where one may legally possess the handgun;
- On a motorcycle when the handgun is secured in a closed saddlebag or other similar closed accessory container attached to the motorcycle; or
- In a vehicle if the handgun is secured in a closed glove compartment, closed console, closed trunk or closed container secured by an integral fastener and transported in the "luggage compartment" of the vehicle.
A luggage compartment is defined as:
[T]he trunk of a motor vehicle which has a trunk; however, with respect to a motor vehicle which does not have a trunk, the term 'luggage compartment' refers to the area of the motor vehicle in which the manufacturer designed that luggage be carried or to the area of the motor vehicle in which luggage is customarily carried. In a station wagon, van, hatchback vehicle, or sport utility vehicle, the term 'luggage compartment' refers to the area behind, but not under, the rearmost seat. In a truck, the term 'luggage compartment' refers to the area behind the rearmost seat, but not under the front seat.
South Carolina also prohibits any passenger on a bus or any other public transportation vehicle from carrying or possessing a firearm.
Any person may carry a concealable weapon from an automobile or other motorized conveyance to a room or other accommodation he or she has rented and upon which an accommodations tax has been paid.
Finally, South Carolina prohibits the possession, carrying or having readily accessible a loaded centerfire rifle, or shotgun loaded with a shot size "larger than number four" on a public road or railroad right-of-way if the person does not have permission to hunt the land immediately adjacent thereto. This prohibition does not apply, however, to a centerfire rifle or shotgun contained in a vehicle traveling on a public road, a closed compartment, or a closed vehicle trunk…
[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]