South-Carolina
South Carolina governor signs gender-affirming healthcare ban into law
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Tuesday signed into law a gender-affirming healthcare ban for transgender minors.
House Bill (HB) 4624, known as the Help Not Harm bill, prohibits physicians, mental health providers and other healthcare professionals from “knowingly” providing gender-transition procedures to individuals under eighteen years of age. HB 4624 defines “gender transition procedures” as puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones or gender reassignment surgery “provided or performed for the purpose of assisting an individual with a physical gender transition.”
Healthcare professionals can continue to temporarily provide hormone treatments and puberty blockers to minors who are prescribed such treatment before August 1, 2024. The professional must determine and document that immediate termination of the treatment “would cause harm” to that individual, and the period for continued treatment must end by January 31, 2025.
The law further requires schools to notify the parents or guardians of minor students if the child has told a school employee that their gender is “inconsistent with” their sex or asks a school employee to address them by “a pronoun or title that does not align with the minor’s sex.”
House Representative Sylleste Davis stated in January that HB 4624 protects children by “ensuring they are not exposed to irreversible medical procedures at an age when they are most vulnerable.” McMaster offered a similar sentiment in January, stating the bill was “a good idea to keep our young people healthy and safe.”
Critics of HB 4624, however, emphasize the harm that the law will impose on transgender youth. Director of Communications for the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network Kelli Parker stated, “Rather than prioritizing the real issues facing South Carolinians, our lawmakers shamefully chose to promote hate, fear, and discrimination under the guise of ‘protecting kids.’” Parker added, “Laws that block essential healthcare violate human rights and are a major setback for equality.”
The ACLU of South Carolina announced its opposition to the bill earlier this year, stating that gender-affirming care “is a best practice backed by scientific evidence and endorsed by leading medical organizations.” The organization also noted that such care is “life-saving” and “is the only effective treatment for trans youth to prevent self-harm and suicidal ideation.”
Critics have further emphasized that doctors and patients testified before the legislative committees that gender-transition surgeries are currently unavailable to minors in South Carolina and that patients can only begin hormone treatments after “extensive consultation with health professionals” and the consent of parents or legal guardians.
South Carolina is now the 25th state to restrict or ban gender-affirming treatment for minors. Similar legislation has been introduced in states such as West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana in the past few years, representing a spike in legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ community. Last month, the US Supreme Court allowed a gender-affirming care ban for minors in Idaho to go into effect, while the governor of Kansas vetoed a state ban on such care.
The ACLU is currently tracking 515 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the US. Other types of bills targeting LGBTQ+ youth include policies that restrict personal pronoun usage in schools, prohibit transgender athletes from participating on sports teams that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, and limit transgender students’ access to bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
Richard Hricik, South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, has officially launched his campaign for November’s general election.
Hricik was unopposed in the primary, automatically advancing to the ballot in November. He will now race against the Republican nominee David Stumbo, who beat Republican challenger Stephen Goldfinch in a runoff on June 23.
Hricik launched his campaign on June 25, just two days after the Republican primary runoff concluded.
In a press release Hricik, a Charleston attorney of more than 25 years, said that his campaign focuses on the fact that the rule of law should protect everyone equally.
“The Rule of Law isn’t red or blue. It has to apply to everyone, and be defended for everyone,” Hricik said. “An Attorney General who treats the law as their own political agenda — who protects some people and not others — threatens our democracy and makes every South Carolinian’s rights less safe. If someone attacks the State House in Columbia, I won’t ask who they voted for; it won’t matter — they are going to prison. That’s the law, and the Attorney General’s job is to defend and uphold The Rule of Law. For everyone.”
Hricik also announced that he has a no-money pledge for his campaign.
“An Attorney General is supposed to answer to two things: You and The Rule of Law. No one and nothing else,” Hricik said. “So, I take no money — not from special interests, not even from myself. That’s not a gimmick. It’s my firewall against corruption and influence. When you owe no one, you can fight for everyone and The Rule of Law.”
There has not been a Democrat in the attorney general office since Thomas Medlock, who left office in 1995.
Stumbo, who is currently serving a fourth term as Solicitor for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina, ran his primary campaign on the basis of being a career prosecutor and lifelong Republican.
On runoff election night, Stumbo and his supporters gathered at the City Club of Greenville to watch results come in. In his winning speech that night, Stumbo said that while there hasn’t been a Democratic attorney general in South Carolina in many years, there would still be work ahead.
“We still got a lot of work to do, and I need everyone in this room fighting like crazy for the next few months to make sure that when we’re standing there on election night in November that we are officially the next attorney g eneral of South Carolina,” Stumbo said.
Ruth Cronin covers Greenville County business, growth and development. Contact her at rcronin@usatodayco.com.
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — A judge has started the process for South Carolina to pursue the death penalty against Brandon Council, the man accused of killing two women during an armed bank robbery at CresCom Bank in 2017.
Council is charged federally with murder after authorities said he walked into the bank to commit an armed robbery that ended with two employees being shot and killed.
He was originally sentenced to death in federal court, but the Biden administration commuted the sentences of 37 death row inmates, changing their status to life in prison.
With Council no longer facing execution under the federal sentence, South Carolina is moving to revive state charges that had been dropped before he was federally charged.
READ MORE: Spectators pack courtroom as Alex Murdaugh returns to court after convictions overturned
In court, prosecutors sought to add dates to the case calendar as they pursue the death penalty again.
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said the state had initially been looking at April 2027 for a trial date, but the judge denied that as too soon.
“We were being as aggressive as we could be. But by July 17th, the defense will give their order. We will turn in another order, and we’ll see if we can’t come to an agreement. That way, the judge doesn’t have a lot of problems. It’s just an agreement between the two sides,” Richardson said.
During the hearing, the judge and the state were asked about any bias before moving forward.
Richardson said, “I don’t know him. So he’s from a different state, and, they ask us to let them know about any bias. I don’t know about any bias. I just, you know, it’s whatever the crime is.”
He added, “The main thing for me was to get the schedule in order so that we know where we’re going, and it looks like we’re on the road to that, but we’re not there yet.”
READ MORE: Florence woman sentenced to 35 years in prison for 2-year-old’s death
At one point, Council sought to represent himself in court and objected to statements made by the prosecution.
By the end of the hearing, he changed his mind and accepted representation.
Richardson said he does not expect the trial until 2028.
The world of recruiting has been hot for South Carolina so far this summer, especially in the past week. For a class than stood at just 8 commits entering June, the Gamecocks now sit with 13 and have raced up the national rankings. Here is a recap of the month of June and where the Gamecocks may be looking to add in the coming weeks.
Iveon Lewis, Richmond, Virginia native, is the highest rated recruit Shane Beamer has added in June. The 6-foot-2 receiver is playable both inside and outside for Kendal Briles next year. Andrew Ivins, Director of Scouting for 247Sports, says Lewis passes the eye test for a Power Four wide receiver and has shown the ability to overwhelm opposing defensive backs. Wide receiver is a position group the team can afford to get better at and Lewis is a great piece to do just that.
Jackson Ross is the most recent addition as he committed on June 28. From right in there own backyard, Shane Beamer and his staff land a 6-foot-3 and 215 pound line backer that is an explosive athlete. Over his sophomore and junior season, Ross has averaged 118 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, double digit sacks, and multiple turnovers.
South Carolina was able to go into rival territory this past week and land Kelvin Millington out of Bogart, Georgia. The 6-foot-3 and 180+ pounder chose the Gamecocks over Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Georgia Tech. He brings elite size and great athleticism to the position and South Carolina has been known to develop defensive backs in recent years.
James Ross is the second player South Carolina has landed right here in Columbia. Ross is a a 6-foot-5 offensive tackle, who doubles as a star in track and field. Beamer won his services over Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State and others.
Finally Clayton Lee is another offensive tackle the Gamecocks were able to land, this time out of the state of Florida. The 6-foot-7 and 290 pound tackle has the ideal size teams covet in the SEC. Randy Clements, South Carolina’s new offensive line coach, has two players added this month that showed help sure up the offensive tackle depth for next season and beyond.
Names to Keep an Eye on
NEWS: South Pointe (SC) 4-star DL Seth Tillman is down to five schools with four OVs locked in.
What’s next?
Read: https://t.co/S6geoAyghT pic.twitter.com/ncae17wQEy
— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) May 13, 2026
South Carolina would like to add multiple running backs in this class, after failing to land a high school running back in each of the last two cycles. New running backs coach Stan Drayton was able to land four-star tailback Brayden Tyson back in May. Looking to add to that room here are a few names to keep an eye on: Caden Waye, Elijah Kimble, Caleb Mattison, Franklin Richardson, and Joel Bradford.
Dewey Young is a four-star offensive tackle prospect from Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Missouri. Young is a top 10 player in the state of Missouri and a top 300 recruit in the country. South Carolina is battling with Colorado, Vanderbilt, Purdue, and Georgia Tech in his recruitment.
Finally, four-star defensive lineman Seth Tillman is another name to watch. Tillman named the Gamecocks along with Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, and Kentucky. Defensive line coach Travian Robertson is the primary recruiter tasked with landing the great playmaker out of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Follow
-
Wyoming7 minutes agoFree Crow Culture Program at Fort Phil Kearny
-
Crypto9 minutes agoUK investors sue Binance in London for £150 million
-
Finance14 minutes agoWhat the Supreme Court’s campaign finance ruling means for the 2026 election
-
Fitness22 minutes agoI pushed myself too hard at the gym – and ended up in the hospital
-
Movie Reviews29 minutes agoYoung Washington (Christian Movie Review) – The Collision
-
World40 minutes agoNeon Closing in on Luca Guadagnino’s Sam Altman Open AI Movie ‘Artificial’ After Amazon Drops Controversial Film
-
Lifestyle1 hour ago‘Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep’ is full of beautifully written grotesqueries
-
Technology1 hour agoGoogle’s NotebookLM can sum up your research in a TikTok-style clip
