Concealed weapons bill vetoed by SD governor

The vetoed bill would have made it difficult for law enforcement officers to determine whether people are qualified to carry concealed weapons or are prohibited from doing so because of criminal records or mental health problems.

|
Cliff Owen/AP/File
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard waits for the start of the opening session of the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, in Feb.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a measure Friday that would have allowed South Dakotans to carry concealed handguns without a permit as long as they had a driver's license and met state standards for carrying guns.

In his veto message to the Legislature, the governor said he supports people's right to carry a concealed handgun under the current law that requires a permit. But the vetoed bill would have made it difficult for law enforcement officers to determine whether people are qualified to carry concealed weapons or are prohibited from doing so because of criminal records or mental health problems.

"South Dakota law already allows law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed weapon. The simple, straightforward permit process allows law enforcement to ensure that those who carry concealed weapons do not fall under one of the state's narrow exceptions," Daugaard wrote in his veto message.

In addition, the vetoed bill would have caused people who are legally carrying concealed weapons to be detained longer by law enforcement officers as officers checked whether the gun carriers had been convicted of serious crimes or had mental health problems, the governor said.

One of the bill's main sponsors, Sen. Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center, said he believes the governor is mistaken about how the measure would affect law enforcement. He said officers around the state hadn't mounted much opposition to the bill.

"I've maintained that unless there are very solid, legitimate reasons to put restrictions on your constitutional rights — in this case, your Second Amendment right to carry a firearm — unless you have a rock-solid reason to leave that restriction in place, it should be removed," Rhoden said.

A vetoed bill can become law if a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate agree to override the veto. Rhoden said it might be difficult to override the veto Monday, the final day of the 2012 legislative session, because the Senate had originally passed the bill with less than a two-thirds majority.

South Dakota law does not require permits to own guns, keep them in a home or business or carry them openly. The bill would have allowed people to carry concealed handguns within the state without permits as long as they had a valid driver's license and otherwise met the requirements for a concealed weapons permit.

Daugaard said even if the bill had become law, South Dakotans would have needed to a permit if they wanted to carry concealed guns in the 26 other states that honor South Dakota's permits.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Concealed weapons bill vetoed by SD governor
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0316/Concealed-weapons-bill-vetoed-by-SD-governor
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe