SD: Gun law Reform Bill Introduced

A gun law reform bill, HB1116, has been introduced into the South Dakota house.  The bill has 28 co-sponsors.  The house has 70 members, 58 of which are Republicans, and 12 Democrats.   36 votes will be needed to pass the bill.   In the Senate, there are 27 Republicans and 8 Democrats, a bit tighter ratio.   The South Dakota Governor is Dennis Daugaard, who has been in office since 2011.  

Governor Daugaard vetoed a constitutional carry bill in 2012, citing concerns of law enforcement officials.   From the argusleader.com:

Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed any resident 18 and older with a valid state drivers’ license to carry a concealed handgun without having to obtain a permit.

In his veto address of the proposal, Daugaard said the state’s permitting laws are already “fair and reasonable.”

“Each year, locally elected sheriffs deny permits, in most cases because the applicant has a serious criminal history,” Daugaard wrote in his veto message. “Under this bill, those who are prohibited from carrying a concealed weapon would no longer be informed of that fact. Understandably, law enforcement officials from across South Dakota have objected to this bill.”

In 2013, Governor Daugaard signed a bill that specifically allowed school districts to determine if teacher would be armed in their schools, with the permission of local law enforcement.   He also signed a bill to increase the number of years that the concealed carry weapon permit was valid, from four years to five.

HB1116 cleans up language in the current statutes, removes references that require guns that are carried without a permit to be unloaded, and makes certain that people from other states, who have concealed carry permits, will be able to carry in South Dakota, if they follow South Dakota law.  From the bill:

Section 8. That § 23-7-7.4 be amended to read as follows:
    23-7-7.4. Any valid permit to carry a concealed pistol, issued to a nonresident of South Dakota, is valid in South Dakota according to the terms of its issuance in the state of its issue, but only to the extent that the terms of issuance comply with any appropriate South Dakota statute or promulgated rule. However, if the holder of such a nonresident permit to carry a concealed pistol becomes, at any time, a legal resident of South Dakota, the provisions of this section no longer apply.

The bill would strike the language that would render an out-of-state permit invalid when the holder of the permit became a legal resident of South Dakota.

Another part of the bill seems to recognize carry without a permit.   It states:

The availability of a permit to carry a concealed pistol pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may not be construed to impose a general prohibition on the carrying of a pistol without such permit or the recognition of out-of-state permits to carry a pistol openly or concealed and loaded or unloaded.

 There may be other statutes that impose limitations on carry outside  of the concealed carry law.  No legal analysis of the bill was found.

The bill seems to have a good chance of passage in the House and Senate, but it is unclear whether Governor Daugaard will sign it.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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