The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides for the right to keep and bear arms, and reads: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Some people believe this language creates a Constitutional, individual right for citizens of the United States to keep and bear arms, and prohibits Congress and state legislatures from prohibiting or restricting the possession of firearms.

Others believe the beginning words ("A well regulated militia being necessary”) indicate the intent of the Amendment was only to restrict Congress from limiting a state’s right to self-defense. This collective rights theory of the Second Amendment holds that citizens do not have an individual right to possess firearms, and that federal, state, and local legislative bodies may regulate the possession of firearms without implicating a Constitutional right.

At the time the First Amendment was ratified, some militia members used their own weapons, and some used weapons from their state’s militia stores.

In South Dakota, the interpretation of the Second Amendment aligns with the individual rights theory, which holds that citizens have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms. This perspective is reflected in the state's gun laws, which are among the most permissive in the United States. South Dakota recognizes the right of individuals to own and carry firearms both openly and concealed without a permit for most adults over the age of 18. The state preempts local jurisdictions from enacting more restrictive gun laws than those at the state level. While there is a national debate over the meaning of the Second Amendment, South Dakota's statutes and practices tend to favor the individual right to bear arms over the collective rights theory that suggests the right is tied to state militia service.