Constitutional Carry and South Dakota

The US Constitution guarantees every US Citizen the right to carry weapons and shields. This is a Citizen Right and Citizen Rights can not be rescinded, restricted or made to require registration or licensing.

For example, you do not need to visit the County Sheriff’s Office to receive a permit to exercise free speech, to publish factual information or to exercise your religion in private or in a group setting where you have permission to use the property for those purposes.

Similarly, a US Citizen can not be made to require a permit in order to carry a weapon such as a knife or a gun; or a shield such as body armor or armored vehicles. According to the US Constitution, it does not matter if weapons or shields are openly showcased or concealed, the drafters of the US Constitution left it purposely vague and a matter of user choice. Requiring one method of carry over the other would be an infringement, i.e. restriction, of a US Citizen’s Rights.

None of the rights described in the US Constitution can be taken away from US Citizens. Citizen Rights are irrevokable, revoking Citizen Rights requires destroying the nation that the Citizen obtains its rights from. Therefore, a US Citizen always retains the right to own and carry wepons and shields and the right can not be rescinded or restricted through a fraudulent court contract. If the right to own, carry and use weapons and shields could be rescinded or restricted, permitting and licensing would be necessary in order for a US Citizen to exercise their right to due process, their right to use an attorney, the right to a trial by their peers and the right to not be charged unreasonable bail if they were to be accused of crime.

Use of a gun as a tool for employment or leisure also can not be restricted for some US Citizens and not for others since there are cultural and economic rights associated with using a gun as a tool that are retained by US Citizens by US Constitution Amendment 9.

In the course of of hunting or ranching, a gun is a tool used as a means to harvest an animal.

Being restricted on which type of tool you can use for hunting and ranching is violation of economic freedoms retained by US Citizens through US Constitution Amendment 9 because other tools are more costly to own, require more skill to operate and can put you at a disadvantage for harvesting an animal if the amount of skill required to use the tool does not make it completely impossible to harvest an animal.

US Constitution Amendment 9 also protects the use of guns in hunting and ranching operations as a cultural right because guns were first available as fire lances between 901 A.D. and 1000 A.D. Rifles came into use in the 1540s, shotguns in the 1850s and a semi-automatic handgun with a removable magazine was first used in 1893. Hunting animals was a popular use for guns during these periods.

This does not mean that States lose the right to designate certain areas for a certain type of harvesting tool for example archery areas, muzzle loader areas, pistol areas, rifle areas and trapping areas. It merely means that if a State allows a certain tool to be used in a certain area for hunting, all US Citizens who are resident of that State retain that right. A State also retains the right to charge Residents of different States additional fees to use their hunting areas and to designate certain hunting areas as resident only as this is an economic right retained by a State.

Gun permits and licensing can be required of temporary residents, permanent residents, long-term residents, VISA holders and travelers who are not Citizens of the United States. In these instances, it makes most sense to examine the weapons and shields restrictions of their Nation of Citizenship and to be familiar with any international treaties that may or may not allow them to carry a weapon in another country. Citizens of Mexico for example have a Constitutional right to own and carry weapons not used exclusively by the Mexican Military and not restricted by Mexican Federal Law. There may be international treaties between the US and Mexico that may allow Mexican Citizens to own or carry weapons within the US. These treaties, if any, would need to be looked up at the US Library of Congress. Based on this information, a Sheriff would then be able to lawfully enact gun control on a Mexican Citizen living in the USA. It would be the same process for Citizens of any of the Earth’s 193 nations that are living in the USA.

In 2019, Governor Kristi Noem requested that sections of South Dakota Codified Law § 22-14 and South Dakota Codified Law § 23-7 be repealed or amended to clarify that South Dakota is compliant with the US Constitution regarding the Citizen Right documented in US Constitution Amendment 2.

In examining these modifications to South Dakota’s legislation, it becomes clear that while the County Sheriff can issue a gun permit, in this casea concealed pistol, it may not be necessary for all people carrying a concealed weapon within the State of South Dakota to have such a permit.

The issuance of a permit to carry a concealed pistol under this chapter, or the recognition of nonresident permits to carry a concealed pistol under § 23-7-7.4, does not impose a general prohibition on the carry of a pistol without a permit.
— SDCL § 23-7-7

This Legislative Text makes it clear that while the County Sheriff can issue permits for concealed carry and recognize the validity of a conceald carry permit issued by another State, a person who may lawfully do so is not prohibited from carrying a concealed pistol.

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. This section does not require a nonresident of this state who may lawfully possess a pistol to have a permit in order to carry a concealed pistol in this state.
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— SDCL § 23-7-7.4

This legislative text makes it clear that South Dakota will honor concealed pistol permits from other States as long as the permit complies with South Dakota legislation and is compliant with promulgated rules. A promulgated rule might be a Congressional Codified Law that states a non-citizen may only be issued a concealed carrry permit for use in their State of residence . Another promulgated rule might an international treaty that a Citizen of a certain foreign nation may only be issued a concealed carry permit for use on their owned property.

It also makes it clear that a person who can lawfully possess a pistol is not required to have a concealed pistol permit in South Dakota. This rule may apply to a US Citizen who is a resident of another US State. It may also apply to Foreign Citizens working in or retired from Law Enforcement through Conressional Legislation known as LEOSA as long as the carry is compliant with promulgated rules. Check for treaties between your Nation of Citizenship and the USA.

SDCL § 23-7-7-1 (8) states that a temporary permit can be issued within 5 days to a Citizen or legal resident of the United States. As US Constitution Amendment 2 makes it unecessary to have a concealed carry permit, this rule mostly applies to legal residents. However, it may take several weeks after the naturalization process to receive your Certificate of US Citizenship and another few weeks for your US Passport to arrive. It can then take a few more weeks to several months to have your name entered into the database of US Citizens used by weapons retailers and to be updated in Law Enforcement computers.

This legislative text allows a new US Citizen to obtain a temporary permit that can be used with existing identification. A County Sheriff can also make a sworn statement to the background check center after verifying your Citizenship documents and request they update your records with the weapons retailer. This is a courtesy they are allowed to do and are not required to do so.

It also allows a legal resident who has obtained a work permit with law enforcement to get their concealed carry permit within 5 days if authorized by their Nation of Citizenship.

Constitutional Carry respects and affirms US Citizen Rights documented in the US Constitution while obeying the rule of law that includes internatinoal treaties with a migrants Nation of Citizenship. It is modern and concise legislation that is in compliance with the Plain Writing Act of 2010.

Governor Kristi Noem presented Senate Bill 47 to the South Dakota Legislature on January 11, 2019 and it was enrolled into South Dakota Codified Law on January 30, 2019. South Dakota Senate Bill 2019-47 became active and in force on July 1, 2019.