Mississippi Governor Signs Key Conceal & Carry Laws

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant recently signed House Bill 353 into law.  House Bill 353, introduced by state Representative Bill Denny (R-64), makes it a crime to deceive a federal firearm licensed dealer when purchasing a gun.

The Mississippi Governor has also signed two other pro-gun right measures recently:

House Bill 695
House Bill 455.

House Bill 695, by state Representative John Moore (R-60), was signed on April 17, 2012.

The measure gives a universal recognition of concealed weapons permits that will not only allow concealed weapons permit holders from other states to carry in Mississippi, but will also expand the number of states which ultimately acknowledge Mississippi permits.

HB 695 will go into effect starting July 1, 2012.

House Bill 455, by state Representative Andy Gipson (R-77), was signed on April 18, 2012.

This legislation removes redundant state recordkeeping requirements for licensed firearm dealers.

The law took effect upon signing.

South Carolina is expected to adopt similar measures.

South Carolina is currently considered as a "May-Issue" State:

From wikipedia:

May-Issue 

A May-Issue jurisdiction is one that requires a permit to carry a concealed handgun, and where the granting of such permits is partially at the discretion of local authorities (frequently the sheriff's department or police). The law typically states that a granting authority "may issue" a permit if various criteria are met. While an applicant must qualify for a permit by meeting criteria defined in state law, local jurisdictions in May-Issue states often have locally-defined requirements that an applicant must meet before a permit will be granted, such as providing adequate justification to the approval authority for needing a concealed carry permit (self-defense in and of itself may not be sufficient justification in some areas where justification is required). Issuing authorities in May-Issue states often charge arbitrarily-defined fees that go well beyond the basic processing fee for a CCW permit, thereby making the CCW permit unaffordable to most applicants. A state that is de jure a May-Issue jurisdiction may range anywhere from No-Issue to Shall-Issue in practice.