HB 1278 to be heard before Senate State Affairs committee
Vote on Wednesday will determine whether cities can ban guns
South Dakota Gun Owners Email Alert Network
PO Box 3845 Rapid City, SD 57709
605.415.4299
March 2, 2009
ACTION:
HB 1278, the bill to end city gun bans, has been referred to the Senate State Affairs committee. It is scheduled for a vote on the morning of Wednesday, March 4th.
Please contact the first four committee members listed below. If you want to do more, feel free to move down the list. It’s OK if these Senators are not from your district. As a committee, they represent the entire state.
Email: You can simply copy and paste the sample message below or feel free to compose your own message.
If you experience any problems with the addresses provided, please use the online system at the following address: http://legis.state.sd.us/email/LegislatorEmail.aspx Choose his or her name from the drop down.
Phone: Call the Senate Lobby at (605) 773-3821 and leave a message. A legislative page will be there between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to take your call. Your message need be no more than “Please vote YES on HB 1278.” You can leave messages for two Senators at a time.
Senate State Affairs Committee
Sen. Russell Olson – sen.olson@state.sd.us
Sen. Gene Abdallah - sen.abdallah@state.sd.us
Sen. Larry Rhoden – sen.rhoden@state.sd.us
Sen. Bob Gray - sen.gray@state.sd.us
Sen. Gary Hanson - sen.hanson@state.sd.us
Sen. Nancy Turbak Berry – sen.turbakberry@state.sd.us
Sen. Thomas Dempster - senatordempster@sio.midco.net
Sen. Scott Heidepriem - sen.heidepriem@state.sd.us
---Sample message---
Dear Senator,
I urge you to support HB 1278.
This bill simply clarifies South Dakota’s preemption laws, which were originally passed in 1983 to ensure uniform gun laws across the state. These preemption laws were designed to play several important roles.
They are intended to guarantee that the South Dakota pistol permit is valid throughout the state, and that the regulations on concealed carry are uniform. Our preemption laws were also designed to provide for uniform safe transportation regulations, so that the same method for safely transporting a firearm is legal as a person travels across South Dakota. Our preemption laws are also intended to guarantee that the process for purchasing a firearm will be uniform.
HB 1278 is an important bill that will protect my right to bear arms. It simply clarifies that South Dakota’s gun laws should remain uniform, and that the Legislature alone has the jurisdiction to change them. This is the clear intent of the current law.
Please vote YES on HB 1278.
Respectfully,
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
City officials are banning guns in South Dakota.
Regardless of whether you possess a concealed pistol permit, these bureaucrats and politicians say you cannot carry a handgun to defend yourself on city property.
The City of Sioux Falls has banned the right to carry on all city property. That includes numerous parks, every city transit bus, twelve different Libraries, a 7000 seat Arena, a convention center and many other locations. In Rapid City, bureaucrats are imposing an outright gun ban in the 10,000 seat Civic Center Arena, and more than a dozen other towns are also moving in this direction.
It may be hard to believe that this could happen in your town. But if cities like Sioux Falls and Rapid City are allowed to get away with banning guns, you can be sure other towns across South Dakota will follow suite.
Current state law makes it illegal for cities to create a patchwork of “gun free zone” ordinances. Since 1983, SDCL 9-19-20 has preempted city ordinances which restrict possession or ownership of firearms.
But the bureaucrats have found a loop-hole, and they are exploiting it with a vengeance. They are creating an entangling web of so-called “gun free” zones that will ensnare law-abiding gun owners. You could face arrest and confiscation of your firearm simply for exercising your right to bear arms in these towns.
This is why SDGO has partnered with pro-gun Rep. Don Kopp and Sen. Dennis Schmidt to introduce HB 1278. This simple legislation will close the city gun ban loop-hole and end this outrageous denial of the right to bear arms.
Click here for more on the city gun ban issue