Campus Carry for Self-Defense Took Effect Today in South Dakota
Campus carry on public college campuses and technical schools took effect July 1, 2025, in South Dakota.
Dakota News Now reported the campus carry measure was contained in Senate Bill 100, which Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) signed.
Rhoden responded to critics of campus carry by saying, “There is a lot of concern that we’ll see in coming time that it is unfounded and that we can get along just right, honoring and respecting our Second Amendment rights the way they were intended.”
He noted that similar criticisms were levelled against constitutional carry and that none of them proved true, “For years and years, law enforcement, there was a lot of wringing of the hands about what could happen with constitutional carry. None of that proved to be true. That was six years since we’ve passed that law.”
KELO noted that the new law allows students, visitors, and school employees to carry concealed on campus “if they have an enhanced or restricted enhanced concealed carry permit.”
Allowable campus carry weapons are not limited to guns but also include mace and pepper spray.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].
