Governor approves deregulating gun silencers in South Dakota

By: Meghan O’Brien

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a bill Tuesday that deregulates gun silencers by removing them from the state’s definition of a controlled weapon.

Unregistered possession of a controlled weapon is a felony, which could result in two years of prison time. That will no longer apply to silencers, also known as suppressors.

“South Dakota is the most Second Amendment-friendly state in America, and this is yet another opportunity for us to pave the way and set an example for the rest of the nation,” Rhoden said in a statement Tuesday.

Rhoden said South Dakota is the first state in the nation to remove suppressors from its list of controlled weapons.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, who is running for the Republican nomination for the state’s lone U.S. House seat.

“Gun suppressors are hearing protection, not a weapon, and I’m glad that South Dakota will no longer be regulating them,” Crabtree said in a statement.

Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is also running for the U.S. House nomination, is another supporter of the legislation. He told a Senate committee last month that regulating silencers “doesn’t promote or help public safety.”

“It’s simply extra government that doesn’t achieve any result,” Jackley said.

The bill passed through both chambers of the Legislature without any “no” votes. National opponents of silencer deregulation, including the organization Everytown for Gun Safety, say silencers make it harder for bystanders or law enforcement to identify and react quickly to gunshots.