Attorney General Larry Long believes that no permit is needed in order to carry a loaded handgun in a vehicle, as long as the handgun is visible.
His recently issued opinion is a welcome attempt to clarify the murky anti-gun law restricting handguns in vehicles (SDCL 22-14, sections 9 and 10).
According to the AG’s statement, members of state law enforcement disagree about when a handgun in a vehicle is legal and when it is not.
In South Dakota Gun Owners’ experience, there is indeed a disparity between the AG’s interpretation and that of other law enforcement officers. At least one SDGO member has been arrested and convicted under this law for carrying a visible handgun in a vehicle in South Dakota.
The Pennington County Sheriff’s Department also has long held the view that a loaded handgun anywhere inside a vehicle is illegal without a permit, according to two members of the Department. It was not until after the issue was disputed during legislative hearings that Department members began to change their interpretation.
Earlier this year, SDGO members strongly supported the Right to Arms in Vehicles bill, which would simply have repealed all of the current entangling restrictions on carrying a handgun in a vehicle. If passed, SDGO’s bill would have made it legal for any law-abiding citizen to carry a handgun anywhere in the vehicle without a permit.
Unfortunately, the Right to Arms in Vehicles bill was defeated, largely through the efforts of David Conway, lobbyist for the South Dakota Shooting Sports Association.
Mr. Conway said he had a problem with legislation which would have allowed people to bear arms without a license. “If you’re going to carry in a motor vehicle, you better have a permit,” Conway stated as he presented the amendment which completely gutted the Right to Arms in Vehicles bill.
The argument that current law already allows a handgun to be carried in plain sight without a permit was used by the opponents as an excuse to kill the Right to Arms in Vehicles bill. And while the AG has now agreed with that interpretation, it is hardly a good reason for defeating a bill which would have recognized the right to carry a handgun anywhere in the vehicle, not just on the seat or the dash.
In his statement, Attorney General Long admits that his opinion is not binding on either prosecutors or judges. And while law enforcement may choose to follow the opinion as a guide, it is not binding on any officer or department.
Under these circumstances, is a gun owner without a permit now safe from prosecution as long as he carries his handgun visibly in his car? Maybe. But it may take more than one non-binding opinion to overturn the precedent of an interpretation that has been held since 1935.
By Zach Lautenschlager
Communications Director