According to retailers in Anderson, SC, more guns are sold in South Carolina in the weekend after Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. No, it’s not that eating turkey at the holidays makes you want to run out and shoot up some more dinner. Or the thought of the Christmas loot coming up reminds you that you some protection. It’s about taxes – or lack thereof.
For the third year in a row, South Carolina offered a “holiday” on the sales of guns in the state by waiving the state sales tax on firearms. The two day break is referred to as – get ready for it – the “Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday” and has, for the past three years, happened on Black Friday and the day after. Pretty much, only guns that you can use immediately are covered under the holiday – antiques and those for show are generally not exempt. Accessories like holsters and powder are likewise not exempt.
And lucky for South Carolina gun retailers, buying a gun is easy for South Carolina residents: no permit is generally required to purchase firearms in the state. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is otherwise responsible for issuing concealed handgun permits and special licenses required for possession, transportation or sale of machine guns.
The gun holiday is thought to cost the State of South Carolina more than $300,000 per year (that would equal more than $5 million in gun sales in the state on those two days) according to South Carolina Budget and Control Board members. That doesn’t exactly sit well with many taxpayers already grappling with the state’s $1 billion deficit. But hey, you gotta have priorities.
