Legislation Watch

Governor Sanford signed H. 3528 into law.

Sen. Dick Elliott (D-Horry) sponsored S. 1259 which would require serial numbers on handgun & "assault weapon" ammunition. If passed into law, this awful bill would have a serious negative impact on the cost of ammunition and probably cripple reloading by individual shooters. It is doubtful that this bill will go anywhere because it was introduced so late in this session. GrassRoots leaders believe this bill was introduced only to help Sen. Elliott with fund raising from anti-gun groups and to cause concern in the pro-gun community. GrassRoots will be closely watching this bill and will get a Senator to put the bill on the contested calendar if it starts to move. As we have seen so many times before, putting a bill on the contested calendar is a good way to kill it.

The Senate concurred with the House amendment to H. 3528 and sent the bill to the Governor for his signature.

The House rejected the Senate amendment to H. 3212 and sent notice to the Senate that their amendment was rejected. The next step is for the Senate to reply to the House, either accepting or rejecting the House's version of the bill.

The House amended the Senate's version of H. 3528 and returned it to the Senate. The Senate version would have required SLED to publish names of former CWP holders who simply chose to give up their permit for various reasons, yet were not prohibited from possessing a firearm. The House version corrected this error, permitting the release of names of persons who no longer possessed a CWP permit only if they were now a prohibited person under Section 23-31-215(J)(1).

GrassRoots delivered this letter to each Representative, asking them to reject the damaging Senate version entirely and return H. 3212 to a recognition bill. GrassRoots asked that if the House were determined to pass a reciprocity bill, the letter from GrassRoots proposes alternative language to allow reciprocity with more states than existing law allows - something the Senate amendment would not do.

The Senate amended H. 3212 and returned it to the House, but did not fix errors of critical importance.

GrassRoots delivered this letter to each Senator, asking them to remove the amendment and return H. 3212 to a CWP recognition bill.

GrassRoots delivered this letter to each Senator, explaining some of the serious problems with the Knotts/Anderson amendment to H. 3212. GrassRoots asked the Senate to repeal the Knotts/Anderson amendment, or kill the bill completely. Senator Martin amended H. 3212 on the Senate floor trying unsuccesfully to correct problems in wording which would have caused SC to lose CWP reciprocity with other states.

Senator Jake Knotts teamed up with anti-gun Senator Anderson and successfully amended H. 3212 on the Senate floor. The amendment would make the CWP SC law so much worse than existing law, that South Carolina would not even qualify for reciprocity with itself! Sen. Knotts claims his amendment will require SC to honor any state that requires a firearms training course and a federal and state background check. The actual text of the amendment appears to be much worse than Sen. Knotts claims.

H. 3212 was taken off the Contested Calendar and put onto the Special Order Calendar for tomorrow morning.

GrassRoots attended the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting where H. 4364 was discussed. Sen. Hutto amended the bill to permit possession of hanguns by persons age 18 and older (instead of 21).

The House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee met to discuss H. 4631. GrassRoots presented this letter to the subcommittee. Debate was adjourned on the bill until a later meeting to consider GrassRoots proposed amendments.

The full House Judiciary Committee met to discuss H. 4243. The bill passed as amended in subcommittee.

The House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee met to discuss H. 4243. The bill was amended to allow CWP holders to possess a firearm in their car when parked on statehouse grounds and sent to the full House Judiciary Committee as favorable with amendment. GrassRoots presented this letter to the Subcommittee.

A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee met to discuss S. 1039. The bill was passed favorably back to the full Senate Judiciary Committee with a favorable report.

Rep. Mike Pitts telephoned GrassRoots Vice President Dr. Robert Butler to say that he will sponsor our Gun-Free Zones Liability bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee met to discuss H. 3528. GrassRoots was there to monitor the debate. The bill was amended to require SLED to produce annual CWP statistics including the number of total permits out, number of permits renewed, number of permits applied for, number of permit applications approved, number of permit applications denied, number of permits revoked/suspended. H. 3528 was also amended to require anyone who has already obtained a CWP list from SLED to destroy it once this bill becomes law. The bill was unanimously voted "favorable with amendment" and sent to the full Senate.

The House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee met to discuss H. 4243 . GrassRoots read this letter at the hearing. The committee voted to suspend action on this bill until next week so that they can further study the issues presented.

GrassRoots leaders met with Rep. Mike Pitts & Rep. Jeff Duncan to ask them to amend H. 4631 to match S. 1039 GrassRoots leaders gave Rep. Pitts this letter. Rep. Pitts & Rep. Duncan were also asked to sponsor the Gun-Free Zones Liability Act. Rep. Pitts & Rep. Duncan agreed to amend H. 4631 and will examine the Gun-Free Zones Liability Act and consider sponsoring it. During that meeting GrassRoots leaders gave this letter to Rep. Pitts and asked him to oppose S. 856 which would call for a Constitutional Convention.

GrassRoots leaders met with Sen. Larry Martin to ask him to sponsor our Gun-Free Zones Liability Act, and to do what ever possible to get H. 3212 onto the special order calendar and onto the Senate floor for a vote. Sen. Martin is Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. If Sen. Martin wants any bill to do so he can make it happen. Sen. Martin told GrassRoots leaders he would do this. Sen. Martin did not commit to sponsor the Gun-Free Zones Liability Act, but agreed to examine the bill and consider sponsoring it.

GrassRoots leaders met with Rep. Leon Stavrinakis to discuss improvements to his bill H. 3876. GrassRoots explained to Rep. Stavrinakis that there were so many problems with his bill that a better idea would be to to kill it entirely and expend his energies on a clean pro-gun bill if his intent was to be a pro-gun legislator. Rep. Stavrinakis did not appear interested in championing a pro-gun agenda, but merely doing what ever it took to keep his bill alive - no matter how bad it would turn out to be for gun owners.

GrassRoots faxed this letter to every member of the House of Representatives. The House is scheduled to debate H.3964 tomorrow and GrassRoots has serious concerns about the affect this bill will have on current and future CWP reciprocity agreements with other states.

GrassRoots leaders and Gorillas attended a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee which discussed H.3964 to allow CWP holders to carry on school & college campuses. It was a long meeting with very contentious debate. The committee amended the bill to allow firearms on school & college campuses only if remaining in the glovebox, console, trunk, or under the seat of a vehicle. The bill was amended so that CWP holders would still not be able to carry a firearm on their person while on campus. Read the letter by GrassRoots VP Rob Butler that was faxed to each member of the House Judiciary Committee.

GrassRoots VP Rob Butler appeared as a guest on CNN Headline News with host Erica Hill to speak in favor of H.3964 and SC State Representative Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) gave the opposing view. Click here to watch the video.

GrassRoots VP Rob Butler appeared as a guest on CNN's Paula Zahn show to speak in favor of H.3964 and SC State Representative Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) gave the opposing view. Click here to watch the video.

The testimony to the House Judiciary General Laws subcommittee was recorded by reporter Kara Gormley of WIS-tv 10, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, SC. Click here to watch the story that aired on this evening's 6:00pm news.

GrassRoots leaders attended a meeting of the House Judiciary General Laws subcommittee to support H.3964. The night before, Representative Kris Crawford (R-Florence) contacted Rob Butler asking GrassRoots to provide some additional information regarding school shootings where a firearm has been used to halt the shooter and save lives. GrassRoots hand delivered this letter to Representative Crawford and copies to the members of the House Judiciary General Laws subcommittee. During a private discussion with legislators out in the hall, GrassRoots leadership also provided specific details to the subcommittee on how an amendment to H.3964 should be worded in order to fix problems with it that would prevent the bill from performing as intended. All of the members of the subcommittee voted to adopt the bill with GrassRoots proposed changes. When the subcommittee voted to give the bill a favorable recommendation to the full House Judiciary committee, Representative Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville) was the only member to cast a vote OPPOSING this pro gun bill. GrassRoots members should call Rep. Bannister and voice their concerns about his opposition to good, pro gun legislation.

Governor Sanford signed H. 3310 into law. According to an Attorney General's opinion issued nearly a decade ago, this was already existing law, but small numbers of law enforcement officers around our state were harassing motorists who carry, claiming that they were not allowed to carry while in their vehicles. No longer will this harassment of law abiding CWP holders be permitted to continue. who travel in their cars while armed.

GrassRoots leaders attended a meeting of the House Judiciary General Laws subcommittee to support H.3964. GrassRoots faxed this letter to the members of the House Judiciary General Laws subcommittee.

Several GrassRoots leaders & members attended a meeting of the full Senate Judiciary committee to support H.3212. GrassRoots faxed this letter to the Senate Judiciary committee.

GrassRoots leaders attended a meeting of the full House Judiciary committee to support H.3528. GrassRoots faxed this letter to each member of the House Judiciary committee.

Several GrassRoots leaders & members attended the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee meeting to support H.3212. Committee voted unanimously to send the bill back to the full Senate Judiciary Committee with a favorable report. The meeting was recorded on videotape and may be placed on our website at a future date. GrassRoots faxed this letter to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee.

GrassRoots attended the Senate Judiciary Committee to support H.3310. Committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the full Senate with a favorable report.

Spoke at House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee in favor of H.3528. GrassRoots faxed this letter to the members of the House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee. Subcommittee voted unanimously to send the bill back to the full Judiciary Committee with a favorable report.

Spoke at House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee concerning H.3464. GrassRoots met briefly with Sen. John Hawkins, Chair of Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on H. 3212 to discuss his support for the bill and asked him to postpone any hearings on the bill until after our next Defender newspaper comes out in April, so that we can rally support for the bill. Sen. Hawkins agreed to postpone any hearings until late April.

House votes to reconsider yesterday's decision to have H. 3212 sent back to committee, and (despite a few dissenters) votes to give the bill its second reading. A motion was made for unanimous consent to give the bill its third reading the next legislative day, which passed. An objection was made by Rep. John Scott, but he was not quick enough and was too late to prevent it. GrassRoots captures the entire debate online via streaming video for future reference.

Certain House Representatives (who are opposed to H.3212) were able to have H. 3212 sent back to the Judiciary Committee. GrassRoots spoke at the House Judiciary Subcommittee about H. 3464. We met with Rep. Mike Pitts in his office regarding H. 3212 & H. 3464 immediately afterwards.

The SC House of Representatives gave H. 3310 its third reading and it has been sent on to the Senate. The Senate must now pass it and send it to the Governor to be signed before it becomes law.

The SC House of Representatives gave H. 3310 its second reading and moved for unanimous consent to hold the 3rd reading the following day. Rep. Jeff Duncan [R-Laurens & Newberry Cos.] held up H. 3212 using a procedural motion. Rep. Duncan did not raise this same procedural motion with H. 3310. Did Rep. Duncan do this because SLED opposed H. 3212 but not H. 3310? We need to keep a close watch on what transpires with H. 3212.

Anyone who lives in Rep. Jeff Duncan's district [District #15 - Laurens & Newberry Cos.] should call and ask him why he held up H. 3212 and not H.3310 and tell him that you want to see H. 3212 passed without amendment.

The SC House Judiciary General Laws subcommittee was scheduled to meet to discuss H. 3464. GrassRoots faxed this letter to the members of the subcommittee to express our support for H. 3464. After receiving our letter, the subcommittee rescheduled this meeting for Wednesday, February 28th, 2007.

The SC House Judiciary Committee met to consider several bills. Among them were the two firearms-related bills (H. 3310 and H. 3212) that GrassRoots has been closely monitoring. GrassRoots faxed this letter in support of H. 3310 and H.3212 to the members of the committee.

GrassRoots leadership attended the meeting along with several GrassRoots Gorillas armed with their orange clipboards, to take notes on the voting of each committee member. Both bills were approved unanimously by all committee members present. Attending the meeting were Dr. Robert D. Butler, Bill Rentiers, Ralph Baker, Greg Kenneally, Bill Griffin, Josiah Gardner and Talbert Black. Thanks goes out to the GrassRoots Gorillas for answering the call!

GrassRoots researched the information given by SLED Capt. Joe Dorton to the House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee on February 14th, 2007 that H.3212 would allow a 16yr old from New Hampshire to carry a concealed firearm in Myrtle Beach. These claims were deceptive. GrassRoots faxed this letter to the House Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee to set the record straight.

The House Judiciary General Laws Subcomittee met to consider H. 3212. GrassRoots GunRights was the ONLY pro gun rights organization to attend the hearing in support of the bill. GrassRoots leadership gave the following statement before the House Judicary General Laws Subcommittee on H. 3212:

SLED lobbyist Captain Joe Dorton also addressed the subcommittee. Capt. Dorton said that SLED had "concerns" (political speak for "opposes") about H. 3212. Capt. Dorton then told the subcommittee that this bill could allow a 16yr old from New Hampshire to lawfully carry a concealed firearm while in our state visiting Myrtle Beach.

The subcommittee unanimously voted in favor of H.3212 as GrassRoots requested.

As Bill Rentiers and Dr. Robert D. Butler were waiting for the General Laws subcommittee hearing to start, they stopped in to talk with Representative J. David Weeks, [D-Sumter Co.] a black Democrat, who sits on the subcommittee. Having just finished talking with Captain Joe Dorton of SLED, Bill and Dr. Butler knew SLED was going to oppose H. 3212 due to lack of a training requirement in some other states. So, they knew the issue they needed to address.

Representative Weeks stated that he had opposed the concealed weapon permit law back in 1996. But, after seeing what had happened during the last 10 years, he had to admit that he was wrong about the concealed weapon permit law. Representative Weeks stated he now supports the concealed weapon permit law.

Representative Weeks wanted to know who would oppose H. 3212. Dr. Butler told him SLED, and he told him why. Dr. Butler told Representative Weeks of how the required concealed weapon permit training taught people all about sight picture, sight alignment, how to slowly squeeze the trigger, proper breathing, and other techniques suitable for target shooting. Dr. Butler told Representative Weeks such training was totally useless in a self-defense shooting scenario. Dr. Butler pointed out that even highly trained law enforcement officers abandoned their training when looking at the wrong end of a gun. Dr. Butler then explained the Rule of Threes to Representative Weeks.

Representative Weeks then asked if GrassRoots was opposed to all concealed weapon permit training or only what was now being taught. Dr. Butler stated GrassRoots supported firearms training on a voluntary basis, but not mandatory training. Dr. Butler pointed out that he was an NRA certified handgun instructor, and had previously been certified as a range safety officer by the United States Army at both Fort Jackson and Fort Gordon as a civilian. Representative Weeks asked Dr. Butler how he could oppose concealed weapon permit training.

Dr. Butler stated the real issue is whether the government should be able to require demonstrations of proficiency prior to allowing an individual to exercise a right. Dr. Butler then asked Representative Weeks if Representative Weeks thought an educated voter - i.e., one who knew the Constitution, the laws of our state and nation, and who our elected representatives were - would be a better voter. As Representative Weeks started to nod his head in agreement, Dr. Butler asked why we don’t require a literacy test before allowing people to exercise their right to vote. Representative Weeks could now understand the principled stand taken by GrassRoots.

Representative Weeks signed on as a cosponsor to H. 3212 the very next day.

The House General Laws subcommittee chaired by Rep. Scott Talley held a hearing on H. 3310. GrassRoots GunRights was the ONLY pro gun rights organization to attend the January 31, 2007, subcommittee hearing and point out the problems with the bill as it was initially drafted.

GrassRoots did not just point out the problems, GrassRoots also proposed alternative language to fix the problem. The GrassRoots proposed amendment was unanimously adopted by the subcommittee. Thanks to the work of GrassRoots GunRights, a bill that would have caused problems for female CWP holders was instead amended by the House General Laws subcommittee - with the full support of Rep. Mike Pitts, the bill's sponsor - to protect the rights of our female CWP holders.

Interestingly, the discussion of H. 3310 noted that the only reason the bill was even introduced was because some law enforcement agencies are continuing to improperly stop and detain CWP holders for carrying their sidearms while in their vehicles.

GrassRoots believes the best course of action would be to punish the law enforcement agencies for harassing law abiding citizens, not write more laws that only repeat what is already the law. But, legislators write laws, not police the police. So, another law is on its way to being enacted.

To better understand the issues involved, please read the letter that was sent by GrassRoots to each member of the subcommittee.

You might also want to read the letter from Rep. Scott Talley to Robert D. Butler - VP of GrassRoots - thanking GrassRoots for appearing and helping the legislative process.

Your support is what makes the politicians listen to GrassRoots leaders. Thank you for your support. Together, we can make a difference.

WASHINGTON TRIED TO STOP GRASSROOTS LOBBYING!

Section 220 in the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act (S.1) in the U.S. Senate would have targeted groups like GrassRoots GunRights SC, who represent gun owners in South Carolina. But thanks to thousands of calls, emails and faxes from concerned citizens all across the nation (including GrassRoots GunRights members), this provision of the bill was removed.

Thanks to you, we are winning!