South Dakota lawmakers advance bill banning campus gun-free zones

PIERRE — A bill prohibiting South Dakota public universities and colleges from banning guns on their campuses received a Senate committee's approval over the objections from university administrators and students on Tuesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced in a 4-3 motion Senate Bill 122, which will prohibit the Board of Regents and the Board of Technical Education from adopting a policy that would restrict or limit a person's ability to carry a firearm on campus. The committee also attempted to send the bill to the 41st legislative day, which would have killed the bill, but the motion failed.

The South Dakota Gun Owners Association was the sole supporter during Tuesday's meeting. Jordan Mason, the association's political director, said the bill is "finally giving our students a chance to defend themselves."

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The South Dakota Constitution guarantees citizens' right to bear arms, said Sen. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, one of the bill's sponsors.

"Gun-free zones do not work," Nelson said during the committee's discussion.

The bill raises concerns about student safety in classrooms and dorms, where drinking and mental health issues occur, and about potential complications in Title IX sexual assault, stalking and harassment cases on campuses, university officials testified.

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It would also eliminate the University of South Dakota's ability to host NCAA championships because the NCAA requires host institutions to have a gun-free campus, USD President Sheila Gestring said. USD students also said that experiments in the school's medical laboratory can be ruined by the presence of metal and a policy is needed to keep firearms out of the area.

The Board of Regents has a policy that prohibits guns on campuses, but there are some exceptions. For example, students at USD can use a free, secure and locked storage area to store their firearms while they're on campus.

Board of Regents Executive Director Paul Beran called the bill "a bad idea." Campus crime statistics show that universities are safer than the larger communities that surround them, he said. 

"The addition of firearms is not going to increase that safety factor," Beran said.

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Those testifying in opposition also represented the Board of Technical Education, the South Dakota Education Association, the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association, and the student associations at USD, South Dakota State University and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Sen. Craig Kennedy, D-Yankton, pointed out that university officials and students unanimously opposed the legislation and the senators represent them at the Legislature. Those in favor of it "are people with a particular ideology that want to see that ideology supersede all other thought, reason and positions taken by the citizens of South Dakota," he said.

Nelson said the Board of Regents is in violation of a state law that prohibits a state agency from adopting a rule restricting the right to carry a firearm and directed Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg to determine whether the law needs to have a criminal punishment added to it. However, the Board of Regents is exempt from the state law quoted by Nelson.