"I won't vote for anything associated with the South Dakota Gun Owners," said Abdallah, of Sioux Falls.
Gosch, of Rapid City, said, "The merit of the bill is something I support, but I can't support this bill because one backer is the South Dakota Gun Owners."
The House Judiciary Committee voted the bill down 7-5.
Both Gibson and Abdallah say they have an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association, which gives grades to lawmakers according to their support for the right to bear arms. [More]
But they'll ignore their oaths of office, vote against a bill that expands those rights and let it tank regardless of its merit because they don't like one group of constituents promoting it? And make sure they publicly disparage a smaller competitor group to their patrons in the process?
I wonder what kind of points they earned for that? It sounds more to me like someone didn't want the bill to pass for reasons of their own...