CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Horry County leaders passed the third and final reading Tuesday night of an ordinance that would make it illegal to fire a weapon “recklessly” within county limits.
It is now illegal for someone to shoot a gun into a housing subdivision or in any other way police would consider “reckless.”
The gun ordinance is a topic council members have gone back and forth on for months, with some claiming the ordinance “doesn’t have enough teeth to it” and wouldn’t be easy to enforce for law enforcement. Tuesday night’s meeting was no different, with council members continuing to debate the ordinance.
After two amendments, the ordinance passed. Members added a time, which Horry County Council Chair Mark Lazarus says will give clarity to the ordinance.
Specifically, it will now be illegal to shoot a gun before 6 a.m. or after 10 p.m. in Horry County, unless you’re at an indoor shooting range. The new ordinance will also make it illegal to shoot a gun on county property controlled by Horry County Parks and Recreation, with the exception of an authorized event.
“The issue we’re having, and we heard it many times when people came, it was in the middle of the night that people were firing their guns. Nobody needs to be out rapid fire of guns in the middle of the night in their neighborhoods or close proximity to homes. So, to keep it from being arbitrary, to keep it from being whether or not they were negligent or not, we put a time limit on it,” said Lazarus.
Anyone who breaks the new law could face a misdemeanor charge with 30 days in jail and / or a $500 fine.
