South Dakota Governor Plans to Deregulate Suppressors

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has announced one of his priorities for 2026 will be to deregulate Silencers in South Dakota. Governor Rhoden stated he announced his decision support on December 4th.  From dakotabroadcasting.com:

After congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill earlier this year, silencers or suppressors were deregulated on a federal level. Governor Rhoden says he plans to bring legislation to deregulate these firearm accessories on the state level…

December 8, 2025, South Dakota Senator Casey Crabtree announced he is introducing a bill to deregulate silencers in the state. Governor Rhoden announced his support for the measure shortly after Senatore Crabtree.  Brandon Maddox, CEO of Silencer Central also pronounced his support. From dakotawarcollege.com:

 “Silencer Central is proud to support South Dakota’s proactive deregulation of suppressors as ‘controlled weapons,’ and we hope the federal government will quickly follow our home state’s pro-gun, pro-freedom initiative,” said Brandon Maddox, founder and CEO of the Sioux Falls-based suppressor retailer. “Earlier this year, we won a huge national victory as the One Big Beautiful Bill removed the $200 stamp fee on suppressors and other common firearms. Now, Senator Crabtree’s bill carries that momentum forward for South Dakota.”

Senator Casey Crabtree is a Republican and Majority Whip in the South Dakota Senate. Bills he introduces have a habit of being passed. He is running for the United States House of Representatives in 2026. The South Dakota United States House member, Dusty Johnson, will be leaving office to run for the South Dakota Governor’s office in 2026.

When both the Governor  and the Majority Whip in the Senate openly support a bill where their party has overwhelming supermajorities in both the Senate and the House, the odds of the bill becoming law are very good. The South Dakota Senate has 3 members of the Democratic Party and 32 members of the Republican Party. The South Dakota House has Six members of the Democratic Party and 64 members of the Republican Party.  The South Dakota Legislature will open their 2026 session at noon on January 13, 2026.  The timing of a bill is subject to many internal legislative dynamics.

A bill has yet to be filed, because the South Dakota legislature is not in session. South Dakota CHAPTER 37-35 states that silencers made of basic materials in South Dakota are not subject to federal regulation, as long as they stay within the borders of South Dakota.  South Dakota 22-14-6 prohibits possession of controlled weapons, but exempts anyone who:

 (2)    Has a valid state or federal license issued pursuant to law for such weapon or has registered such weapon with the proper state or federal authority pursuant to law;

The definition of controlled weapons is found in 22-1-2(8):

 (8)    ”Controlled weapon” includes any firearm silencer, machine gun, or short shotgun, as those terms are defined in subdivisions (17), (23), and (46) of this section;

Analysis: One method to remove the state regulation of silencers in South Dakota may be to remove the word silencer from 22-1-2(8). Silencers would no longer be considered “controlled weapons”, if this reading of the law is correct. More details will be revealed when a bill is introduced to the legislature.

Silencer Central may be the largest manufacturer and distributor of silencers in the United States. Silencer Central is based in South Dakota.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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