Johnson’s gun bills pass House Judiciary Committee

Two pieces of legislation introduced by South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson aimed at strengthening Second Amendment protections for various groups passed out of the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

The Tribal Firearm Access Act is a bipartisan effort with Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) to reclassify tribal identification as a valid form of ID for firearm purchases.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, acceptable identification for purchasing a firearm must include the name, date of birth, photograph and home address of the purchaser. A driver's license is the most common; however, buyers can use a passport in combination with a voter or vehicle registration to satisfy all of the requirements.

Applicants can even use a foreign passport for identification, something Johnson called "amazing" considering U.S. government-issued tribal IDs are invalid under the current statutes.

"These tribal IDs are government-issued identification cards," he said. "There isn't any reason that our federal government shouldn't give them the same respect and same authority that we provide to state-issued IDs."

It's a move to strengthen Second Amendment rights for Indigenous people while also bolstering tribal sovereignty, Johnson said.

President Tony Reider of the Flandreau-Santee Sioux Tribe, one of South Dakota's nine federally recognized tribes, praised Johnson's efforts to protect tribal members' rights.

"The right to bear arms is constitutionally vested, and important to the day-to-day lives of Native Americans. The Tribal Firearm Access Act sponsored by Rep. Dusty Johnson removes certain barriers for tribal members to purchase firearms by allowing them to utilize tribally issued identification cards as a valid form of identification," Reider said.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

While tribal members in South Dakota can use their IDs to vote or get on a plane, there have historically been limitations to their use.

In 2003, South Dakota enacted legislation requiring a photo ID to vote. The state first passed a law in 2011 to recognize tribal IDs as a form of identification. In 2020, South Dakota Senate Bill 146 allowed them to be used for all business-related purposes and when age-verification is required, such as when purchasing alcohol and tobacco.

That same year, the state House rejected a part of HB 1054 which would have authorized the use of tribal identification when registering to vote. The legislation allowed non-driver identification cards to be used during registration and was ultimately signed into law after several amendments and hearings in both chambers.

Legislators tried again in 2023 with Senate Bill 153, but it was assigned to the Senate State Affairs Committee and promptly rejected by a vote of 8-to-1.

For military spouses, full-time travelers and anyone without a permanent physical address, Johnson's Traveler's Gun Rights Act would allow a post office box or post mail box address to be used on firearm purchase applications.

ATF's requirements infringe on the Second Amendment rights of full-time travelers, Johnson said, considering post office box and post mail box addresses can be listed on driver's licenses. Lengthy permanent residency requirements in some states — regulations he called "onerous" — also unfairly impact military spouses who move frequently.

Concerns arose during Thursday's hearing regarding whether or not the legislation would make law enforcement's job more difficult. Johnson disagreed, citing the detailed nature of background checks, which include legal filings, previous addresses and credit reports.

"Those concerns are wrong. I mean, they're not actually based in fact," he said. "There's already a robust background check that has to be done before anybody can purchase a firearm from a federal firearm dealer."

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Johnson's Tribal Firearm Access Act passed House Judiciary with a unanimous vote, while the Traveler's Gun Rights Act passed 19-to-18.

Both now go to the full House floor for consideration.

The future of both bills could be uncertain in a Democrat-controlled Senate. Johnson didn't express any major concerns about a potential uphill battle.

"I still think there is a broad bipartisan consensus to be built around the idea that tribal members and military spouses deserve an actual opportunity to exercise their Second Amendment rights," Johnson said. "I believe there's going to be strong bipartisan support for those concepts."