Key Takeaways
- South Dakota becomes the first state to remove firearm suppressors from its list of controlled weapons with the implementation of Senate Bill 2.
- The bill changes the definition of ‘controlled weapon’ to exclude suppressors, reducing legal risks for owners.
- Suppressors remain regulated under federal law, requiring registration and background checks, but state penalties have been eliminated.
- Governor Rhoden emphasizes that removing unnecessary restrictions preserves the right to bear arms, and the bill received no opposition in the legislature.
- The NRA supports South Dakota’s move and sees it as a step toward further federal deregulation of suppressors.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s law removing firearm suppressors from the state’s list of controlled weapons took effect Wednesday, July 1. Governor Larry Rhoden’s office says it makes South Dakota the first state in the nation to strike suppressors from a controlled weapons list.
Senate Bill 2 amends the definition of “controlled weapon” in state law. Under the enrolled text, the term now covers machine guns and short shotguns but explicitly excludes firearm silencers.
That change matters because knowingly possessing a controlled weapon is a Class 6 felony in South Dakota. With SB 2 in effect, suppressor owners no longer face state felony exposure tied to that classification. State law no longer adds its own layer on top of federal requirements.
Suppressors are still regulated under the National Firearms Act. Buyers must complete federal registration and pass a background check. But as I covered in December, the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminated the $200 federal tax stamp, and South Dakota’s move strips away the redundant state penalty on top of that.
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“The right to keep and bear arms is a cornerstone of our freedom,” Rhoden said in a statement announcing the effective date, adding that removing unnecessary restrictions is essential to preserving it.
Governor Rhoden signed SB 2 on February 10 at Silencer Central in Sioux Falls, alongside prime sponsors Senator Casey Crabtree and Representative Drew Peterson. Crabtree, who is also running for South Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat, pushed the bill as a follow-up to the federal tax stamp repeal.
“Gun suppressors are hearing protection, not a weapon,” Crabtree said at the signing.
The bill drew no opposition in the legislature. South Dakota Searchlight reported it passed both chambers without a single no vote.
The NRA backed the bill throughout the session. “The NRA applauds Governor Rhoden’s steadfast support of the Second Amendment,” said Brian Gosch, the NRA’s South Dakota State Director.
The governor’s office says other states have since moved to deregulate suppressors at the state level, and it frames SB 2 as a message to Washington that further federal deregulation should follow. I will keep tracking suppressor deregulation efforts in other statehouses and at the federal level.
Read the full article here