South Dakota Gun Owners
celebrates
18 years of no-compromise
January 6, 2006
By Ray Lautenschlager - Executive Director
Gun owners are some of the finest folks in South Dakota. United, they are also one of the most powerful forces in politics today. Over the past 18 years, they have formed the backbone of SDGO’s work to defend the right to arms.
The
organization began in 1988 as a small group of concerned citizens in the Rapid
City area. Since then, it has grown to more than 3500 gun owners state-wide who
have achieved many significant victories.
One of their earliest
efforts was to require local law-enforcement to recognize the “shall issue”
provision of the pistol permit law.
In
the early 1990s, the membership opposed legislation which stripped 17-year-olds
of the right to self-defense. They also used the state’s preemption laws to
stop municipalities from passing new handgun restrictions.
In
1995, SDGO worked against a bill to raise the age limit to 21 for concealed
carry. Even though this legislation appeared to be on the “fast-track”, gun
owners stopped the bill cold and forced even the bill’s sponsor to oppose it.
Through the late 1990s, SDGO was involved in the efforts to pass concealed carry
reciprocity. In the months before this legislation was finally passed in 2002,
it was SDGO’s no-compromise stand and strong membership that defeated attempts
to attach a laundry list of gun control demands to the bill. Because of SDGO’s
commitment to principle, a clean reciprocity bill was passed.
In
2001, SDGO members defeated the anti-gun database bill which would have created
a new central registry for gun owners. SDGO raised a firestorm of protest
against the database, forcing even the bill’s sponsor to vote against her own
legislation.
A
state-level version of the hated federal Lautenberg gun ban was also introduced
in 2001. SDGO alerted its members, and the ban was soundly defeated even though
it had already gained considerable momentum.
In
2002, SDGO learned that anti-gunners were pushing ahead to bureaucratically set
up a central registry for gun owners. SDGO members successfully passed into law
an absolute prohibition against this database scheme.
In
2002, when the governor’s office pushed legislation expanding the state
emergency powers laws, SDGO was the only gun rights group to oppose it. The
membership recognized this legislation as a threat to the right to arms and
succeeded in defeating the most dangerous section.
In
2003, legislation was introduced that would have increased the price of the
pistol permit by requiring a photo ID. It would also have created a backdoor
method of bureaucratically imposing more permit restrictions on South Dakota in
the future. Once again, SDGO members did the heavy lifting through grassroots
action and the bill was soundly defeated.
SDGO
also continued fighting single-handedly against emergency powers laws that would
allow the confiscation of legal firearms during an emergency.
During the 2004 session, SDGO’s continuing work against “emergency” firearms
confiscation paid off when a bill was passed which repealed the governor’s power
to take legal weapons.
SDGO
members also killed a bill to create new state-level penalties for carrying a
firearm for self-defense in a so-called “gun free zone,” and played a crucial
role in ending the federal Clinton Semi-auto Ban in September of 2004.
In
2005, SDGO members helped to pass state legislation recognizing out-of-state
pistol permits.
SDGO members also worked throughout the year with other no-compromise gun owners from across America to defeat new federal gun control, including bans on semi-autos and .50 caliber rifles. Without their hard work, these bans may well have become law.
South Dakota Gun Owners congratulates its members for their outstanding accomplishments and their steadfast commitment to the right to arms over the last 18 years.