South Carolina Laws Relating to Workplace Violence

A summary of South Carolina laws relating to weapons and conduct that impact workplace violence.

In South Carolina it is unlawful for anyone to carry a pistol on the person, whether concealed or not, except:

• regular, salaried law enforcement officers and reserve police officers or a municipality or county of the state, uncompensated governor's constables, law enforcement officers of the federal government or other states when they are carrying out official duties while in South Carolina, deputy enforcement officers of the Natural Resources Enforcement Division of the Department of Natural Resources, and retired commissioned law enforcement officers employed as private detectives or private investigators
• members of the Armed Forces of the United States or of the National Guard, organized reserves, or the State Militia when on duty
• members of organizations authorized by law to purchase or receive firearms from the United States or South Carolina, or regularly enrolled members of clubs organized for the purpose of target shooting or collecting modern and antique firearms while these members are at or going to or from their places of target practice or their shows and exhibits
• licensed hunters or fisherpersons while hunting or fishing or going to or from a place for hunting or fishing
• a person regularly engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing, repossession, or dealing in firearms, or the agent or representative of this person while possessing, using, or carrying a pistol in the usual or ordinary course of the business
• guards engaged in protection of property of the U.S. or any of its agencies
• authorized military or civil organizations while parading or their members when going to and from the places of meeting of their respective organizations
• a person in the person's home, on the person's real property or fixed place of business
• a person in a vehicle where the pistol is secured in a closed glove compartment, closed console or closed trunk
• a person carrying a pistol unloaded and in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to his or her home or a fixed place of business or while in the process of the changing or moving of one's residence or the changing or moving of his or her fixed place of business
• a prison guard while engaged in his or her official duties
• a person who is granted a permit under provision of law by the State Law Enforcement Division to carry a pistol under conditions set forth in the permit

A permit does not authorize the permit holder to carry a concealable weapon into:

• a police, sheriff or highway patrol station or any other law enforcement office or facility
• a detention facility, prison or jail or any other correctional facility or office
• a courthouse or courtroom
• a polling place on election days
• an office of or the business meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality or special purpose district
• a school or college athletic event not related to firearms
• a day care facility or preschool facility
• a place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law
• a church or other established religious sanctuary unless express permission is given by the appropriate church official or governing body
• a hospital, medical clinic, doctor's office or any other facility where medical services or procedures are performed, unless expressly authorized by the employer

Valid out-of-state permits to carry concealable weapons held by a resident of a reciprocal state must be honored by South Carolina.

The law allowing individuals to obtain and use permits to carry concealable weapons does not limit the right of a public or private employer to prohibit a person who is licensed from carrying a concealable weapon on the premises of its business or workplace or while using any machinery, vehicle or equipment owned or operated by the business; or the right of a private property owner or person in legal possession or control to allow or prohibit the carrying of a concealable weapon on the premises.

The posting by an employer, owner or person in legal possession or control of a sign stating "No Concealable Weapons Allowed" constitutes notice to a person holding a permit that the employer, owner or person in legal possession or control requests that concealable weapons not be brought on the premises or into the workplace. The requirement for the posting of signs prohibiting the carrying of a concealable weapon on any premises may be satisfied by a sign expressing the prohibition in written language interdict or universal sign language.

A person holding a permit to carry a concealable weapon may not carry a concealable weapon into the residence or dwelling place of another person without the express permission of the owner or person in legal control or possession.

Any person may carry a concealable weapon from an automobile or other motorized conveyance to a room or other accommodation the person has rented and for which an accommodation tax has been paid.

Under the Protection of Persons and Property Act, a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and who is attacked in a place where he or she has a right to be, including, but not limited to, his or her place of business, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime.