State Gun Laws

Throughout these gun law pages, we will refer to laws that make it illegal for someone convicted of a felony to have a gun. A felony is a more serious crime than a misdemeanor. South Carolina state law defines felonies by dividing them into six classes, Class A through Class F. Class A felonies are punishable by jail time of up to 30 years, and Class F felonies are punishable by jail time of up to five years. The other four classes have maximum prison sentences of between five and 30 years.¹

However, you cannot always tell if someone was convicted of a felony only by looking at the amount of time s/he actually served in prison since sentences are often reduced or pled down. If you are unsure if the abuser was convicted of a felony, you might want to talk to the prosecutor who handled the criminal case against the abuser to find out or go to the courthouse and search the conviction records.

¹ S.C. Code § 16-1-20(A)