Strange South Carolina laws you have probably never heard of

Did you know that it’s illegal to play pinball if you’re under 18 in South Carolina? 

This is just one of the Palmetto State’s odd regulations that are still technically a law. Other laws include limitations on dancing, shopping on Sundays and more. 

Take a look at a few of South Carolina’s bizarre laws.

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1. No playing pinball if you’re under 18
2. No insincere marriage proposals
3. Dancing stops at midnight on Saturday
4. Silverware, and other items, can’t be bought on Sunday

1. No playing pinball if you’re under 18

If you’re taking a stroll down a South Carolina boardwalk and stumble upon a pinball machine, you must be at least 18 to participate in the popular arcade game. 

In South Carolina, it is “unlawful for a minor under the age of eighteen to play a pinball machine,” according to Section 63-19-2430 in the South Carolina’s Children’s Code. 

The old law coincides with the invention of the game, when it was considered a form of gambling.

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Although this is still a law in South Carolina, it is not one widely enforced throughout the state. 

2. No insincere marriage proposals

In South Carolina, the promise of marriage in an attempt to seduce a woman is strictly prohibited. So much so that there is a law forbidding it. 

In South Carolina, don’t promise marriage unless you mean it; it’s the law. (iStock)

You can find this law in South Carolina Code Section 16-15-50. The law applies to males that are over the age of 16 and could lead to jail time if broken. 

“A male over the age of sixteen years who by means of deception and promise of marriage seduces an unmarried woman in this State is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined at the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than one year,” the law states.

3. Dancing stops at midnight on Saturday

If you love to dance the night away, don’t plan on partying too late in South Carolina. 

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This holds true for Saturdays at least, with dance venues in the state closed beginning at 12 a.m. Saturday through Sunday.  

You can find this law in Title 52 – Amusements and Athletic Contests in South Carolina’s Code of Law. 

In South Carolina, it’s against the law for dance venues to be open on Sundays. (iStock)

Section 52-12-10 outlines that it is “unlawful for any person to keep open or admit persons to any public dancing hall owned or operated by him or to allow any person to continue thereat between the hours of twelve o’clock, midnight, Saturday and twelve o’clock, midnight, Sunday, and all such places shall be and remain closed to the public between such hours.”

The punishment for breaking this law is a fine between $10 and $15 for the first offense, with the fine increasing to between $50 and $100 for second time offenders or imprisonment for 30 days. 

Additionally, the location of dance halls is also outlined in South Carolina law. 

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According to state law, it’s illegal for dance halls to be located within one fourth of a mile of a church or cemetery in the state. This law is laid out in Section 52-13-20.  

4. Silverware, and other items, can’t be bought on Sunday

If you find yourself needing a sparkly new silverware set, building supplies or a musical instrument to begin a new hobby on a South Carolina Sunday, you may be out of luck due to a law in the state. 

The sale of certain items, including silverware, is illegal on Sunday, 

Title 53 in South Carolina’s code highlights regulations specific to Sundays, holidays and other special days. 

Under Section 53-1-60, the sale of many items is prohibited on the first day of the week. 

In-store transactions are limited on Sundays in South Carolina, with many businesses closed. (iStock)

The selling of “clothing and clothing accessories (except those which qualify as swimwear, novelties, souvenirs, hosiery, or undergarments); housewares, china, glassware, and kitchenware; home, business and office furnishings, and appliances; tools, paints, hardware, building supplies, and lumber; jewelry, silverware, watches, clocks, luggage, musical instruments, recorders, recordings, radios, television sets, phonographs, record players or so-called hi-fi or stereo sets, or equipment; sporting goods (except when sold on premises where sporting events and recreational facilities are permitted); yard or piece goods; automobiles, trucks, and trailers,” is prohibited according to the law. 

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Connected to this law is one that makes it “unlawful to work on Sunday,” according to Section 53-1-40. 

“On the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in worldly work, labor, business of his ordinary calling or the selling or offering to sell, publicly or privately or by telephone, at retail or at wholesale to the consumer any goods, wares or merchandise or to employ others to engage in work, labor, business or selling or offering to sell any goods, wares or merchandise, excepting work of necessity or charity,” according to South Carolina law.