South Carolina has tried secession before. It was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860 in a move that ignited the Civil War. In 1832, state officials threatened secession when the Nullification Convention met over tariff issues.

The recent national debate over gun rights has three House Republicans considering secession again, The State newspaper reported.

Reps. Mike Pitts, Jonathon Hill and Ashley Trantham introduced a bill Thursday that would allow lawmakers to debate seceding from the United States if the federal government confiscates legally purchased firearms in South Carolina, The State reported.

Pitts told The Hill the bill is more of way to shed light on the Second Amendment, rather than on actual secession.

"I see a lot of stuff where people even talk about totally repealing the Second Amendment, which separates us from the entire rest of the world," Pitts said.

The bill has a very slim chance of passage during this legislative session, The State reported, because the deadline for bills to move from one chamber to the other is April 10, The State reported.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Blue heron are just one of the hundreds of kinds of animals and plants that call the Okefenokee Swamp home. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Featured

The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman