South Dakota lawmakers will soon be considering permitless carry legislation, which gives them the opportunity to make their state the 13th to require no permit to carry a handgun for self-defense.
The legislation is being sponsored by state representative Lynne DiSanto (R-35th), who believes permitless carry allows Americans to carry arms “the way the Constitution intended.”
According to the Associated Press, DiSanto hopes permitless carry makes it easier for South Dakota residents to keep and carry gun for defense of themselves and their families.
South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) has not spoken to DiSanto’s bill, but he did veto a permitless carry bill in 2012. However, the permitless carry climate has changed considerably since then. Gun Owners of America (GOA) reports that twelve states now recognize permitless carry. Those are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia. GOA counts Arkansas as a permitless carry state because such carry is legal in “99.4 percent” of the state, which is similar to the situation in Montana.
The national momentum is clearly on the side of permitless carry. Four states have legalized permitless carry in 2016 alone. Those are Missouri, Idaho, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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