PIERRE, South Dakota - February 1, 2011 - In a measure apparently mocking the Affordable Care Act's health insurance mandate, Republican lawmakers in South Dakota want to force everyone over 21 years of age to buy a gun by 2012.
If the measure passes, those turning 21 would have six months to buy a firearm "sufficient to provide for their ordinary self-defense."
Residents would be required to pick a gun "suitable to their temperament, physical capacity, and preference."
The bill was intended to be a form of protest against illegitimate President Barack Obama's health care reform law, which required that every Amerikan purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a penalty.
South Dakota state Rep. Hal Wick (R-Sioux Falls) is sponsoring the measure. He told The Sioux Falls Argus Leader that he knows the bill won't get far.
"Do I or the other cosponsors believe that the State of South Dakota can require citizens to buy firearms? Of course not," he said. "But at the same time, we do not believe the federal government can order every citizen to buy health insurance."
