The Honorable G. Mark Mickelson
Speaker of the House
500 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
Dear Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives,
I herewith return to you House Bill 1072 with my VETO.
House Bill 1072 is an Act to repeal and revise certain provisions relating to permits to carry a
concealed pistol.
The proponents of House Bill 1072 did not testify about problems that exist with our current
permitting laws in the bill's hearings. I am unaware of a single instance in which a person who could
lawfully possess a gun was denied a permit to carry a concealed pistol. Our permit laws are effective
in screening people who are not eligible to carry a concealed weapon. Over the last three years,
Minnehaha and Pennington Counties have turned down nearly 600 permit applicants who were
disqualified due to mental illness or due to violent or drug-related crimes. It is for this reason the
South Dakota Sheriffs Association, the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association, the South Dakota
State's Attorneys Association, and the South Dakota Fraternal Order of Police all opposed House
Bill 1072.
Proponents of this bill argued that our state concealed carry laws infringe on the Second Amendment
right to bear arms. I respectfully disagree with that notion. As Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his
majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller. "There seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both
text and history, that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms.
Of course the right was not unlimited, just as the First Amendment's right of free speech was not."
As an example of a lawful limitation Justice Scalia states that "prohibitions on carrying concealed
weapons were lawful under the Second Amendment.."
As a longtime member of the NRA, I support the right to bear arms. South Dakota's current permit
process is simple and straightforward, and permits can be obtained in a matter of minutes. It is
paramount that our state protect the rights of our citizens while at the same time protecting the lives
of our citizens. I believe our current laws appropriately protect both interests, and I ask that you
sustain my veto.
Respectfully submitted,
Dennis Daugaard
Governor