South Dakota Passes Constitutional Concealed Carry Law

House Bill 1248, passed the South Dakota Legislature last Tuesday awaits Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s signature or veto.

If
Gov. Daugaard signs the law, South Dakotans will bypass a layer of
bureaucracy, including a background check and fee, before being able to
carry a concealed weapon.

Anyone with a valid South Dakota
driver’s license who isn’t disqualified from carrying a concealed weapon
– including convicted felons, people with a “history of violence” and
people with mental illness – will be able to carry a concealed weapon
without the permit under the state law and the U.S. Constitution.

South
Dakota law does not require permits to own guns, keep or bear them in a
home or business or carry guns openly. However, the law currently
requires that people have permits to carry concealed guns.

Permits
still will be available for people who want one. Many other states
recognize South Dakota concealed weapon permits as valid, and travelers
would need a permit in order to carry concealed weapons those states. If
the bill is signed into law, it would make South Dakota the fifth state
to not require a concealed carry permit. Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and
Wyoming don’t require permits to carry concealed weapons.

The
bill won’t change where people are allowed to carry a weapon. It will
still be against the law to possess a firearm inside a courthouse or to
possess a loaded firearm while intoxicated.

Federal laws requiring background checks for people buying firearms remain.

Supporters say it is a matter of giving citizens their freedoms.

Sen.
Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center, said there’s no reason to make South
Dakotans get a concealed weapons permit as long as they have valid
driver’s licenses and would meet the requirements for getting a
concealed weapons permit. People have a constitutional right to bear
arms, he said.