Victory for the ACLU in South Dakota! (That's just fun to say.)
The South Dakota wing of the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against our fair state last month over our discriminatory concealed weapons law. Judge Karen Schreier ruled yesterday that the ACLU is right: South Dakota violates the 14th Amendment by refusing to issue concealed weapons permits to legal residents who aren't full citizens.
Judge Schreier ruled that the criterion that concealed weapons permit holders be United States citizens provides no effective check on whether the applicant is a "dangerous person or otherwise impermissible candidate" for packing heat. It denies Mr. Wayne Smith, a British citizen who has lived here in America for over 30 years, since he was 15, his rights under the Equal Protection Clause. This denial of Smith's Constitutionally protected rights constitutes "irreparable harm."
Judge Schreier thus permanently enjoins Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead and Secretary of State Jason Gant from enforcing SDCL 23-7-7.1(8) against Mr. Smith. I would assume this injunction applies to any other legal residents in South Dakota who've been itching to stroll around Sioux Falls secretly armed.
Read the full ruling here (you know you want to!).
Surely clicking right now to download Judge Schreier's ruling: the House State Affairs Committee, which Monday will hear HB 1149, a bill to fix this very nefarious bit of discrimination by adding just three little words to the concealed weapons permit criteria: or legal resident.
So there you go: expanded gun rights, brought to you by your friends at the ACLU.
Cory-
The ruling says that it just applies to Smith. I'm not sure if Judge Schreier is waiting to see what the Legislature does, or if she just wanted to limit it to Smith... your guess is as good as mine.
...and I would assume if any legal resident in the same situation as Smith's applies for a concealed weapons permit, the Secretary of State would think twice about enforcing the law.
Off-topic, guys. Has the Wick gun bill addressed the possibility of wrongful death lawsuits undoubtedly to pend against the state upon its application as law?
Larry, excellent point. But you know Wick didn't think through his little rhetorical joke at all. HB 1237 gets its hearing before House Judiciary Monday.