SC Car Carry

R

Roland Thunder

New member
If my memory serves me, I believe SC now reciprocates with GA with regards to conceal carry permits. My wife is getting ready to travel from our home in GA to SC. She does not have a GA CCW. She is only going to have a gun in the car with her. What are the SC guidelines for having a gun in the car without a CCW. The last I remember, it had to be in a locked compartment. Since I have a SUV with no trunk, I was going to let her take it in my nightstand safe. Will this work?
 
Check with handgunlaw.us.
There's a section for vehicle transport of a firearm on the left side of the main page.
It looks like any closed container with a latch of some kind will suffice, including the glove box.
 
In SC, it is legal to have a loaded gun in a closed compartment (glove box, console, etc.). It does not have to be locked or even have a lock on it.

The law specifically allows for carry in a glovebox or console. IF carried in the luggage area of an SUV, the gun must be in a container with fasteners.
 
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From the PDF linked above:

Anyone who can legally own a firearm can carry it loaded if contained in a closed Glove Box, Console,
Trunk or a vehicle without a trunk in the Luggage Area in a container secured with fasteners. Their law is
very specific on the only locations where it can be carried.
Click to expand...

There is no "etc" on what a closed compartment is. It must be in the Glove Box, Center Console, or it may be in the luggage area/trunk if in a fastened container. This was different for me coming from Florida where a firearm can be kept in a vehicle in a securely encased container, whereas SC specifically states what areas it may be kept.

The safe in the luggage area (being that you don't have a trunk) seems to meet legal definitions but seems overkill to me.

I am not a lawyer, only a South Carolina resident telling you how I understand things to be.
 
dakota.potts said:
There is no "etc" on what a closed compartment is. It must be in the Glove Box, Center Console, or it may be in the luggage area/trunk if in a fastened container. This was different for me coming from Florida where a firearm can be kept in a vehicle in a securely encased container, whereas SC specifically states what areas it may be kept.

The safe in the luggage area (being that you don't have a trunk) seems to meet legal definitions but seems overkill to me.

I am not a lawyer, only a South Carolina resident telling you how I understand things to be.
Click to expand...

I ended up using the table top vault that I keep on my nightstand that has a digital combination. I put it in the rear end of my SUV but it wasn't bolted down. I wonder if this would suffice had she been pulled over, since it wasn't bolted down.
 
Why not contact SC attorney general and get your info straight from the horses mouth. Un bolted gun safe???????
 
SC Attorney General does not answer questions from citizens, only from certain public officials.

Any closed container with integral fasteners stored in the trunk or luggage compartment should be fine. I don't personally see or know of anything that would necessitate it being bolted down.
 
SC Attorney General does not answer questions from citizens, only from certain public officials.
Click to expand...
How do you know this, proof????
I personally have spoken with the AG in MA. and FL. Why would SC be different??
 
I ended up using the table top vault that I keep on my nightstand that has a digital combination. I put it in the rear end of my SUV but it wasn't bolted down. I wonder if this would suffice had she been pulled over, since it wasn't bolted down.
Click to expand...

Sounds a lot like overkill for this, but better safe than sorry. I just carried mine in the center console or in my pocket (I do have a CWL from a reciprocating state)
 
I have sent a formal letter to my attorney General and received a response that they do not provide legal opinions to citizens, and that I should instead consider having my local sheriff or congressman submit the question for consideration. It's also addressed on their website
 
"In the final analysis" what the attorney general, police chief or any official says is less important than what a police officer thinks - especially the one whom you might actually encounter.
And they usually are not experts on laws, even the ones they enforce.
You might want to download a copy of the SC laws and have them with you.
 
For what it's worth, I was stopped the other day at a random security checkpoint. The officer saw some old targets in the back and when I asked if I could open my glove box to get my insurance and registration, he asked first if there were any weapons in the car. I told him there was a legal, loaded firearm in the center console (one of the places listed in SC statute) and he simply told me not to open that compartment. He never asked about it again or asked for a CWP (you don't need one to have it in the allowed places in your vehicle).

Obviously police officers as humans will vary across the board, but every interaction I have had with law enforcement in this state has been very respectful and agreeable towards gun rights.
 
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