The Gooney McBuckshot clan will be a little disappointed: South Dakota cannot claim to have the absolute-worst gun safety laws in the country. According to the Brady Campaign State Scorecard, South Dakota ties with seven other states for the third-lowest score in the country on passing strong laws to prevent gun violence. On the Brady 100-point scale, South Dakota scores 4. Our scores by Brady standards:
- Curbing firearm trafficking: 0/35
- Strengthening Brady background checks: 0/40
- Banning assault weapons: 0/10
- Ensuring child safety: 0/7
- Restricting guns in public places: 4/8
Uff da: I know students who could show up drunk for finals and get better scores.
Our meager four points come from not forcing employers or college campuses to let people carry guns on their premises (not that our legislators haven't tried: see this year's HB 1204, last year's HB 1169, and 2009's SB 82 and HB 1257).
Our four points will keep our local gun nuts from cheering as loudly as the big shooters in Arizona, which tied with Alaska and Utah for perfect, last-place zeroes.
Wow, knock me over with a feather! I'm certain our state legislators are already working on this for next session. We can't let these other states rob us of our usual position of last on everything.