Lancaster County, SC Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Sec. 23-6 of the Lancaster County Code, adopted by Ord. No. ' Subsection (b) is the operative permit requirement: permits shall be required of any person or entity hosting a protest, rally, fair, festival, or other organized event on public property. Subsection (a) ties the firearms regulation to that permit: the county may only restrict the otherwise-lawful open carrying of a firearm at the event if a permit was applied for and issued beforehand; without a permit, the county has no authority to impose that restriction at all.

Subsection (c) requires the permit holder to post signs at the event stating whether open carry is allowed or not under the permit's terms. C. Code § 23-31-520, to be specific about the area, duration and manner of any restriction and to give prior notice when feasible; the restriction cannot extend beyond the event's location or its start and end times. Subsection (e) bars scheduling an event's duration in a way that would frustrate the section's intent, and subsection (f) bars the county from confiscating a firearm or ammunition for a violation of this section unless the confiscation is incident to an otherwise lawful arrest.