South Dakota’s weak gun laws puts it in the “national failures” category of gun law strength. The Mount Rushmore State has a notably high proportion of suicide—with the vast majority of gun deaths occurring by suicide, higher than the national average—and yet has none of the most critical protections in place. South Dakota has no foundational gun laws, and in recent years state legislators have enacted laws that further endanger South Dakotans, including expanding the state’s Shoot First law and repealing its permitting requirement for the concealed carry of firearms in public.