Sioux Falls business owner says city rule violates South Dakota's authority on gun laws

A Sioux Falls business owner who sells silencers for firearms says gun dealers are apprehensive about doing business at gun shows here because of what they see as illegal city firearms regulations.

Since 2011, the city of Sioux Falls has required pawn brokers and gun dealers doing business in the city to report the serial numbers of firearms they're considering purchasing so they can be cross-referenced through an online database of stolen firearms.

But Brandon Maddox, owner of Dakota Silencer and former president of the Dakota Territory Gun Collectors Association, says that rule requires anyone who comes to Sioux Falls to sell guns to pay a $25 license fee with the city and adhere to the reporting ordinance, which he says violates a long-standing state law that gives the South Dakota Legislature sole discretion over firearms regulations and prohibits municipalities and local governments from regulating the sale, purchase or licensure of firearms.

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"We have this fear that the city is going to roll in and start arresting people," Maddox said referring to the Dakota Territory Gun Collectors Association's annual gun show in Sioux Falls where hundreds of gun dealers from around the state and country will convene at the Sioux Falls Convention Center this weekend.

Maddox says state law has very strict rules prohibiting the keeping of any sort of gun registry, so for a local police department to keep records of firearm serial numbers is a violation.

And some state lawmakers agree. State Rep. Sue Peterson, a Republican from Sioux Falls, is pushing a measure to clarify the state preemption law and mandate the Attorney General to go after cities and counties who violate it.

"It’s a matter of jurisdiction, not a matter of the merits of the policy," she told a House Committee on Local Government last month.

Maddox also argues that the city's use of an online database is inefficient, mostly ineffective and duplicative of a federal database that flags stolen firearms.

According to the city attorney's office, between 15,000 and 16,000 firearms transactions in Sioux Falls have been run through the online database Leads Online in the last three years. Of those, 25 guns have been flagged, 11 of them being handguns.

Gun dealers are also required to report stolen or lost firearms to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

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But not everyone in Sioux Falls and Pierre is in agreement. Sioux Falls Police Chief Matt Burns says the system of reporting potential firearms purchases through Leads Online, a third-party vendor , is within the city's rights and has prevented local pawn shops and gun dealers from buying stolen weapons. And it's helped Sioux Falls residents get their property back on numerous occasions. 

"This should give businesses … peace of mind that the firearms that are purchased have been vetted," he said. "You'd think that would be a benefit to the businesses."

State Rep. Doug Barthel, who serves on the House's Local Government Committee, took issue with the bill's language mandating the attorney general go after cities it deems in violation of the state preemption law. Rather, it should be the burden of the business owner or individual alleging a violation that pushes litigation.

Maddox, though, says this isn't an issue that impacts his business selling silencers. Rather, it's a matter of principle that the city of Sioux Falls and any other city with similar ordinances is violating state law.

"If Sioux Falls wants to regulate firearms and dealers, they should take it to the entire Legislature as the law requires," he said.

A scheduled vote on HB 1056 Wednesday afternoon was delayed until the financial impact of the bill could be determined.

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