Public barred from list of concealed weapons permits

A new law bars the public from finding out who can carry concealed weapons in South Carolina.

The measure signed into law on Wednesday exempts the identities of the state's more than 61,300 permit holders from what's available through the Freedom of Information Act. Access is now limited to law enforcement or through a court order.

The change was advocated by gun enthusiasts who say publishing gun owners' names violates their privacy, while open-government advocates lost their argument that the government should never issue licenses in secret.

Gov. Mark Sanford, an avid hunter, said he wrestled with the bill because it pitted two principles he considers important against each other - the right to keep and bear arms versus government transparency.

"As important as both of those are, the more important from our perspective is the first," the Republican governor wrote in a letter to legislative leaders.

Sanford considers the permitting itself - requiring someone to get a concealed weapon permit to carry a gun - an infringement on the Second Amendment. Carrying a gun, concealed or not, should be a personal, not governmental, decision, he wrote.

South Carolina was among half a dozen states considering legislation this year closing the list to public scrutiny.

The National Rifle Association has advocated the measures, citing the publishing of gun owners by newspapers in Tennessee, Ohio and New York in the past three years.

www.thestate.com...

How soon before some newspaper decides the 1st amendment is more important than the law, and decides to publish a list of those with permits?

The First Amendment has many limitations, including slander, libel, threats and "hate speech."

Putting concealed carry premit holders at risk by publishing their names is irresponsible to the max.

By all rights, no one should have to have a permit to carry a firearm in a safe manner, but that's the world the legislators, judges and cowards have created for us.

I'm not sure I read the article well enough or it was just poorly written.

Who do we want to keep the concealed gun permit secret from? Obviously if law enforcement can find out by tapping a few keys from within their car, then what is the point? The government knows.
The general public? I could care less if you knew or not if I had a permit to carry. How would that effect me any?

Like I said I may easily be missing some point but as it stands, I don't like any secret licensing of anything by the government. Now take it to the CT level and lets say the government could give out 007 permits to a few chosen citizens.....now, I would want to know who those people were, if for no other reason than to avoid the hell out of them.
....hmmm, secrecy and government action just doesn't go together in my opinion. I am against this statute.