No weapons at public events? Conway considering ban with SC’s new open carry gun law
South Carolina’s newly implemented open carry law has Conway officials considering an addition to one of its public protection ordinances.
Conway Police Chief Dale Long is recommending city council effectively ban people from bringing weapons to city-permitted events, and he presented his proposal to them during Monday’s meeting.
Council will soon vote on whether to add a subsection to its ordinance that deals with public conduct during a meeting, assembly or parade. The ordinance currently gives the city administrator to restrict parking on a parade route and makes it unlawful to unreasonably interfere with any person or vehicle involved in a parade or city event.
The new subsection would read: “It is unlawful for any person, whether or not that person has been issued a concealed weapons permit, to enter a city-permitted event held on public property while armed.”
The proposal notes that the impetus for this suggestion is South Carolina’s recently enacted “Open Carry with Training Act,” which went into effect Aug. 15 and allows permitted handgun owners the ability to openly carry in public.
Conway council members will consider the addition during its next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 15, though it will need to be approved during two separate meetings before it is officially enacted, according to spokeswoman June Wood.
Other cities including Florence and Columbia have already outlawed open carry during city-sponsored events, according to WBTW.
