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TO AMEND ARTICLE 3 OF CHAPTER 23 OF TITLE 16, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MACHINE GUNS, SAWED-OFF RIFLES, AND SAWED-OFF SHOTGUNS, SO AS TO MAKE TECHNICAL CHANGES; AND TO AMEND ARTICLE 5 OF CHAPTER 23 OF TITLE 31, RELATING TO THE USE AND POSSESSION OF MACHINE GUNS, SAWED-OFF SHOTGUNS, AND SAWED-OFF RIFLES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ARTICLE DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY PERSON AUTHORIZED TO POSSESS THESE WEAPONS BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS, OR ANY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY EMPOWERED TO GRANT THIS AUTHORIZATION; AND TO PROVIDE THAT CLASS III DEALERS, AS DEFINED UNDER FEDERAL LAW, MUST FILE WITH THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION A RECORD CONTAINING CERTAIN INFORMATION FOR EACH SALE OF A MACHINE GUN, SAWED-OFF SHOTGUN, AND SAWED-OFF RIFLE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 3 of Chapter 23 of Title 16 is amended to read:
Section 16-23-210. When used in this article:
(a) 'Machine gun' applies to and includes means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include includes the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any combination or parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such these parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
(b) 'Sawed-off shotgun' means a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than eighteen inches in length, or a weapon made from a shotgun which, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches or a barrel or barrels of less than eighteen inches in length.
(c) 'Shotgun' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger. The term includes any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed shotgun shell, but does not include an antique firearm as defined in this section.
(d) 'Sawed-off rifle' means a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than sixteen inches in length, or a weapon made from a rifle which, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches or a barrel or barrels of less than sixteen inches in length.
(e) 'Rifle' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger. The term includes any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed cartridge, but does not include an antique firearm as described in this section.
(f) 'Antique firearm' means any firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition, and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898), and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
(g) 'Military firearm' means any military weapon, firearm, or destructive device, other than a machine gun, that is manufactured for military use by a firm licensed by the federal government pursuant to a contract with the federal government, and but does not include a pistol, rifle, or shotgun which fires only one shot for each pull of the trigger.
Section 16-23-220. (A) Except as provided in Sections 16-23-245, 16-23-250, and 23-31-370, It it is unlawful for a person to:
(1) transport from one place to another in this State, or for any railroad company, express company, or other common carrier or any officer, agent, or employee of any of them, or other person acting in their behalf knowingly to ship or to transport from one place to another in this State a machine gun or firearm commonly known as a machine gun, military firearm, sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle, except as provided in Sections 16-23-250 and 23-31-330.;
(2) store, keep, possess, or have in possession or permit another to store, keep, possess, or have in possession a machine gun or firearm commonly known as a machine gun, military firearm, sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle; or
(3) sell, rent, give away, or participate in any manner, directly or indirectly, in the sale, renting, giving away, or otherwise disposing of a machine gun, or firearm commonly known as a machine gun, military firearm, sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle.
(B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished pursuant to Section 16-23-260 fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Section 16-23-230. It is unlawful for a person to store, keep, possess, or have in possession or permit another to store, keep, possess, or have in possession a machine gun or firearm commonly known as a machine gun, military firearm, sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle, except as provided in Sections 16-23-250 and 23-31-330.
A person who violates the provisions of this section, upon conviction, must be punished pursuant to Section 16-23-260
Section 16-23-240. It is unlawful for a person to sell, rent, give away, or participate in any manner, directly or indirectly, in the sale, renting, giving away, or otherwise disposing of a machine gun, or firearm commonly known as a machine gun, military firearm, sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle, except as provided in Sections 16-23-250 and 23-31-330.
A person who violates the provisions of this section, upon conviction, must be punished pursuant to Section 16-23-260.
Section 16-23-245. The following persons may possess machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and sawed-off rifles when required in the performance of their duties:
(1) peace officers of the State or of a county or other political subdivision;
(2) state constables;
(3) highway patrol officers;
(4) railway policemen;
(5) wardens, superintendents, or deputies of a state prison, correction facility, workhouse, county jail, city jail, or other institution for the detention of persons convicted or accused of crime or held as witnesses in criminal cases; and
(6) persons on duty in the postal service of the United States or a common carrier while transporting direct to a police department, military, or naval organization or persons authorized by law to possess or use a machine gun, or sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle.
Section 16-23-250. The provisions of this article do not apply to:
(1) the Army, Navy, or Air Force of the United States, the National Guard, and organizations authorized by law to purchase or receive machine guns, military firearms, or sawed-off shotguns or sawed-off rifles, from the United States or from this State and the members of these organizations.; Any peace officer of the State or of a county or other political subdivision, state constable, member of the highway patrol, railway policeman or warden, superintendent, head keeper or deputy of a state prison, correction facility, workhouse, county jail, city jail, or other institution for the detention of persons convicted or accused of crime or held as witnesses in criminal cases or persons on duty in the postal service of the United States or a common carrier while transporting direct to a police department, military, or naval organization or person authorized by law to possess or use a machine gun, or sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle, may possess machine guns, or sawed-off shotguns, or sawed-off rifles, when required in the performance of their duties.
(2) The provisions of this section must not be construed to apply to machine guns, or sawed-off shotguns, or sawed-off rifles kept for display as relics and which are rendered harmless and not usable.;
(3) The provisions of this article do not apply to any manufacturer of machine guns or military firearms licensed pursuant to the provisions of 18 U. S. C. Section 921 et seq.,;
(4) any person authorized to possess these weapons by the United States Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or any other federal agency empowered to grant this authorization,;
(5) any common or contract carrier transporting or shipping any machine gun or military firearm to or from the manufacturer if the transportation or shipment is not prohibited by federal law, or;
(6) persons licensed pursuant to Section 23-31-370.; or
(7) antique firearms as defined in Section 16-23-210(f)..
Section 16-23-260. A person violating the provisions of this article is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Section 16-23-270. The provisions of this article shall not apply to antique firearms.
Section 16-23-280. Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, machine guns or military firearms manufactured by a firm licensed by the federal government and subject to the Federal Gun Control Act may be legally lawfully manufactured, transported, possessed, and sold within the State by the manufacturer thereof."
SECTION 2. Article 5 of Chapter 31 of Title 23 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 23-31-310. When used in this article:
(a) 'Machine gun' applies to and includes means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include includes the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any combination or parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such these parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
(b) 'Sawed-off shotgun' means a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than eighteen inches in length, or a weapon made from a shotgun which, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches or a barrel or barrels of less than eighteen inches in length.
(c) 'Shotgun' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger. The term includes any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed shotgun shell, but does not include an antique firearm as defined in this section.
(d) 'Sawed-off rifle' means a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than sixteen inches in length, or a weapon made from a rifle which, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches or a barrel or barrels of less than sixteen inches in length.
(e) 'Rifle' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger. The term includes any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed cartridge, but does not include an antique firearm as described in this section.
(f) 'Antique firearm' means any firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898), and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
(g) 'Military firearm' means any military weapon, firearm, or destructive device, other than a machine gun, that is manufactured for military use by a firm licensed by the federal government pursuant to a contract with the federal government and does not include a pistol, rifle, or shotgun which fires only one shot for each pull of the trigger.
Section 23-31-320. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the Army, Navy, or Air Force of the United States, the National Guard, and organizations authorized by law to purchase or receive machine guns, military firearms, or sawed-off shotguns or sawed-off rifles, from the United States or from this State and the members of such organizations. The following may possess machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, or sawed-off rifles, when required in the performance of their duties:
(1) Any peace officer officers of the State or of any county or other political subdivision; thereof,
(2) state constable constables,;
(3) member of the highway patrol officers,;
(4) railway policeman policemen,; or
(5) warden, superintendent, head keeper wardens, superintendents, or deputy deputies of any state prison, penitentiary, workhouse, county jail, city jail, or other institution for the detention of persons convicted or accused of crime or held as witnesses in criminal cases; or and
(6) person persons on duty in the postal service of the United States or any common carrier while transporting direct to any police department, military, or naval organization or person authorized by law to possess or use a machine gun, or sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle, may possess machine guns, or sawed-off shotguns or sawed-off rifles, when required in the performance of their duties. Nor shall the provisions hereof be construed to apply to machine guns, or sawed-off shotguns or sawed-off rifles, kept for display as relics and which are rendered harmless and not usable.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to any manufacturer of machine guns or military firearms licensed pursuant to the provisions of 18 U. S. C. Section 921 et seq., nor to any common or contract carrier transporting or shipping any machine guns or military firearms to or from such manufacturer if the transportation or shipment is not prohibited by federal law. Any such manufacturer shall furnish to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division the serial numbers of all machine guns or military firearms manufactured by it within thirty days of such manufacture and shall be subject to the penalties provided in Section 23-31-340 for noncompliance.
Section 23-31-325. The requirements of this article do not apply to:
(1) the Army, Navy, or Air Force of the United States, the National Guard, and organizations authorized by law to purchase or receive machine guns, military firearms, sawed-off shotguns, or sawed-off rifles, from the United States or from this State and the members of such organizations;
(2) machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, or sawed-off rifles, kept for display as relics and which are rendered harmless and not usable;
(3) any manufacturer of machine guns or military firearms licensed pursuant to the provisions of 18 U. S. C. Section 921 et seq.; however, a manufacturer must furnish to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division the serial numbers of all machine guns or military firearms manufactured by it within thirty days of the manufacture, and is subject to a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisonment of not more than ten years, or both, for non-compliance;
(4) any person authorized to possess these weapons by the United States Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or any other federal agency empowered to grant this authorization;
(5) any common or contract carrier transporting or shipping any machine guns or military firearms to or from the manufacturer if the transportation or shipment is not prohibited by federal law; or
(6) antique firearms as defined in Section 23-31-310(f).
Section 23-31-330. (A) Every person permitted by Section 23-31-320 to possess licensed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 923 to transfer a machine gun, or sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle, to a person authorized to possess one of these weapons pursuant to Section 23-31-320 or 23-31-325(4) and any person elected or appointed to any office or position which entitles the person to possess a machine gun or sawed-off shotgun or sawed-off rifle, upon taking office, shall must file a copy of the completed ATF Form 4, or its successor form if Form 4 is replaced or supplanted, with the State Law Enforcement Division on a blank to be supplied by the division on request an application which is properly sworn. The application must be approved by the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides or has his principal place of business and include the applicant's name, residence and business address, physical description, whether or not ever charged or convicted of any crime, municipal, state, or otherwise, and where, if charged, and when it was disposed of. The applicant shall also give a description including the serial number and make of the machine gun or sawed-off shotgun or sawed-off rifle which he possesses or desires to possess. The State Law Enforcement Division shall must file the application copy of the ATF Form 4 in its office. The division shall register the applicant together with the information required in the application in a book or index to be kept for that purpose, assign to him a number, and issue to him the transferee a card which shall must bear the signature of the applicant transferee and which he shall must keep with him while he has the machine gun, or sawed-off shotgun, or sawed-off rifle in his possession. This registration must be made on the date application is received and filed with the division. The registration expires on December thirty-first of the year in which the license is issued.
(B) No permit or registration required by the provisions of this section is required where weapons are possessed by a governmental entity which has a significant public safety responsibility for the protection of life or property. A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Section 23-31-340. A person who violates the provisions of this article is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Section 23-31-350. The provisions of this article shall not apply to antique firearms.
Section 23-31-360. Machine guns or military firearms manufactured by a firm licensed by the federal government and subject to the Federal Gun Control Act may be legally possessed by the manufacturer without being registered with the State Law Enforcement Division. The manufacturing firm shall furnish to SLED the serial numbers of all machine guns or military firearms manufactured by it within thirty days of their manufacture and it is subject to the penalties provided in Section 23-31-340 for noncompliance.
Section 23-31-370. (a)(A) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division may issue a special limited license for the possession, transportation, and sale of machine guns in this State to persons: (1) who are authorized representatives of a machine gun manufacturer or dealer engaged in demonstrating and selling them to agencies authorized by law to possess them, or (2) who are engaged in professional movie-making or providing services to professional movie-makers who use machine guns as regulated by this article in the course of creating movie 'special effects'.
(b)(B) Applications for the special license authorized by this section must be on a form prescribed by the division, duly sworn to, containing the applicant's name, business and residence address addresses, a record of any criminal charges filed against the applicant in the United States for other than traffic law violations and the disposition of the charges, a description of the machine guns to be possessed, transported, or sold in this State, including their make and serial numbers, the sites within the State to which the machine guns will be transported, and such other information the division considers necessary to implement this section.
(c)(C) The division may issue a special license pursuant to this section if it determines that the applicant has not been convicted of any offense other than traffic violations, and the applicant clearly qualifies under item (1) or (2) of subsection (a). The special license is valid for a specified period not to exceed six months which must be stated on the license.
(d)(D) Any A person who knowingly and wilfully makes any false statement for the purpose of obtaining the special license or who violates its terms, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to purchases of machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and sawed-off rifles made on and after the effective date.
This web page was last updated on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:03 A.M.