South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden is back at it again, prioritizing freedom, individual responsibility, and the right to self-defense while validating my choice to call this state home. On Monday, March 24, Rhoden signed a pair of pro-Second Amendment bills into law that open up concealed carry in bars and on public college campuses, also taking action to protect South Dakotans from political subdivisions who think they have the right to overrule the law of the land.
“One of my favorite things about South Dakota is how much we respect freedom — especially our Second Amendment freedom,” said Rhoden during a bill signing at Boyds Gunstocks in Mitchell, South Dakota.
Senate Bill 100, sponsored by Senator Jensen, Senator Voita, Representative Gosch, and Representative Mulally, allows those with enhanced concealed-carry permits or reciprocal out-of-state permits to carry a concealed handgun on state university and technical college campuses. The enhanced permit, available to those 18 years of age and up, is much like a regular permit with a few additional perks, mostly regarding expanded carry rights in reciprocal states like North Dakota in exchange for a background check and completion of an NRA-certified handgun course.
The measure requires handguns and ammunition to be secured in a locked case or safe when not carried. Institutions are permitted to place carry restrictions under specified conditions, including air-quality-controlled labs, facilities requiring a security clearance, special events protected by metal detectors and armed security, and labs containing flammable liquids, dangerous chemicals, and hazardous gases.
While SB 100 is a relatively popular measure that received few downvotes, Representative Jim Halverson, a former state trooper and likely to be a former South Dakota representative if he keeps it up, fought against the bill, raising doubt about the ability of young adults to act responsibly and therefore be afforded the right to self-defense.
“I slept very little last night because I couldn’t make peace with my God if I didn’t stand up and speak against this bill today… A locked box in a dorm room just doesn’t seem like a good plan,” said Halverson.
The problem with Halverson’s argument is common, and it has been debunked for so long that it’s almost shocking to witness the broken chain of logic continually passed off upon Americans. Halverson assumes that the absence of a firearm will stop a person who has decided to take their own life or the lives of others. That is a criminal and mental health issue that never had any bearing on the tool used or how one might choose to obtain it. These faulty arguments trade the liberty and God-given right to self-preservation for what is essentially political snake oil.
House Bill 1218, sponsored by Representative Aylward and Senator Voita, prohibits local governments from adopting any policy that subverts state law regarding restrictions on employees, officers, and volunteers carrying a concealed firearm in government buildings, facilities, and vehicles. The bill also contains a late addition repealing a state law that creates gun-free zones at eateries and establishments that serve alcohol, a portion of the bill that received the most pushback from those who think diners have an obligation to be more compliant victims.
“It’s unfortunate that this change didn’t even get a committee hearing… Small business owners deserved the opportunity to share how this law would impact them,” says Nathan Sanderson of the South Dakota Retailers Association.
I find it curious that, regardless of his position as Executive Director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, Sanderson could be so in touch with what a small business owner deserves without mentioning the right to self-preservation deserved by all Americans and enumerated in the Constitution. I wonder if he would support a bill that made small business owners personally liable for the safety of their patrons while shopping and walking to and from their vehicles. I won’t hold my breath on that one.
Governor Rhoden Wasn’t having any of the typical liberal nonsense either, having heard every tired argument in the book and every reason why Americans shouldn’t have access to the right to bear arms. He likened the rhetoric to that of the argument against Constitutional carry, signed into law by Kristi Noem in 2019.
“There was a lot of wringing of the hands and speculation about what could happen with constitutional carry…None of that proved to be true,” says Rhoden.
Like any other state, gun deaths fluctuate in South Dakota. However, evidence shows that most firearm-related mortalities come from suicide, not from people going out to dinner and deciding to pop off a few rounds in the dining room. The prioritization of liberty and self-reliance was at the top of my list when the time came to relocate. It is a value I appreciate and one that will keep me here for the rest of my life if it continues to be sustained in this manner. My hat’s off to Governor Rhoden and all South Dakota Representatives who sponsored and voted for these bills.
