In 2012, only Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming residents enjoyed constitutional or permitless carry. In 2012, the South Dakota House and Senate passed a constitutional carry bill. It was vetoed by Gov Daugaard. In 2015, constitutional carry passed the South Dakota House, only to be killed by a Senate committee. This year, Representative Lynne DiSanto (above) is once again giving constitutional carry the old college try.
PIERRE, S.D. — A Republican state lawmaker plans to sponsor a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would allow people who can legally carry a concealed handgun in South Dakota to do so without a permit.
Right now, it’s a misdemeanor under state law for someone to carry a concealed pistol or to have one concealed in a vehicle without a permit. Rep. Lynne DiSanto said Monday that her bill is about personal protection.
Constitutional carry has made great strides since 2012; 11 states now have it. The graphic below illustrates the incremental restoration of the right to bear arms in the United States. Green indicates permitless or constitutional carry states.
The difficulty in passing constitutional carry in South Dakota remains the same: getting the bill past Governor Daugaard. Now that several more states have successfully passed constitutional carry without ill effect, now that gun rights are ascendant, the bill may just have a chance of becoming law. Watch his space.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.