Synopsis of the 2008 Right to Carry on Campus bill
The Right to Carry on Campus bill was written
by SDGO staff in late 2007. It was introduced as
House
Bill 1261 by staunch gun rights supporters Rep. Tom Brunner and Sen. Dennis
Schmidt on January 22nd, 2008. The bill immediately received strong support from
gun owners all across South Dakota.
On January 30th HB 1261 passed the House State Affairs committee
12 to 0. Committee members reported that they had received a flood of your
calls and emails. The bill went on to pass the House
63 to 3 with overwhelming grassroots support. Widespread support also
prompted Governor Rounds to announce his support for the right to carry on
campus.
On February 5th HB 1261 was first read in the Senate, where SDGO predicted it
would face stiff opposition. The bill was referred to the Senate State Affairs
committee and the committee members were once again deluged with your calls and
emails. But seven left-leaning Senators on the committee decided to ignore their
numerous pro-gun constituents and listen instead to the anti-gun crowd in
Pierre. They voted
7 to 1 against HB 1261, hoping to bury the bill in their committee.
Notably, the one committee vote in favor of HB 1261 came from Sen. Gene Abdallah
(R-10). Many will remember Sen. Abdallah’s longstanding opposition to the right
to bear arms. South Dakota Gun Owners mounted a hefty accountability campaign
during the last election, aggressively publishing his anti-gun voting record to
his constituents. Sen. Abdallah was forced to raise and spend four times more
money to win re-election. Thanks to this grassroots pressure, Sen. Abdallah may
be modifying his anti-gun position. He has consistently supported HB 1261 and
the right to carry on campus this year.
After the Senate State Affairs committee voted to defeat HB 1261, SDGO worked
closely with pro-gun Senators Ken McNenny and Brock Greenfield to “smoke-out” HB
1261. In this maneuver, at least twelve Senators must vote to bring HB 1261 to
the floor, where it can then be voted on by the entire Senate body. With your
grassroots support, the SDGO staff successfully lined up the votes to force a
floor vote and
16 Senators supported the smoke-out.
The vote on whether the Senate would consider HB 1261 came on Friday, February
15th. Senators Jay Duenwald and Frank Kloucek strongly supported HB 1261, but
both had to attend funerals on the 15th. Anti-gun Senate Majority Leader Dave
Knudson rushed to bring the bill up for a vote while they were absent and it
failed
14 to 17.
Notably, Sen. Jean Hunhoff voted against HB 1261 in the smoke-out, but changed
her vote because of constituent pressure and voted in favor of the bill in the
final vote.
Sen. Arnie Hauge betrayed gun owners by doing the exact opposite. In response to
numerous calls from his constituents, Sen. Hauge voted for HB 1261 in the
smoke-out. But the very next day, he flip-flopped and voted against HB 1261 when
it came up for its final vote. When his vote really counted, Sen. Hauge joined
the anti-gun crowd and voted to kill HB 1261.
In the final tally, HB 1261 came within just two votes of becoming law. And even
though the bill was not successful this year, the battle for the right to carry
on campus has won solid gains for gun owners.