President Obama has set his sights on enacting tougher gun laws during his final year in office, that was apparent on Tuesday with the announcement of his plan to require background checks for every gun that is purchased online or at a gun show.

The announcement was one of four Executive Orders laid out by Obama aimed at curbing gun violence despite big time opposition from Congress regarding new gun legislation.

South Dakota's members of Congress didn't waste any time on Tuesday to express their disappointment over the President's decision to bypass Congress.

Senator John Thune said, "The President Obama should shelve his ‘my way or the highway’ approach and face the reality that Congress and the American people have a voice in how this nation is governed.”

Here in South Dakota one thing is perfectly clear, a great number of our residents value their 2nd amendment rights. This is illustrated by the spike the state saw in the request for concealed carry permits in 2015.

According to South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs, her office saw a 21 percent increase in concealed carry permits last year. The total of new and renewal permits jumped to 22,554 in 2015, up from the 18,656 issued in 2014.

It looks like many South Dakota residents made the decision to give themselves the gift of a concealed carry permit for Christmas too. Permits in December alone doubled from 1,423 in 2014 to 2,968 in 2015.

A trend Krebs expects to continue with concerns over national security and the potential for even more federal gun restrictions.

The state had a total of 85,273 active gun permits as of Dec. 31, 2015.

Source: The Washington Times

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