Gov. Kristi Noem signed an executive order for South Dakota at a National Rifle Association event in Indiana.
Noem wants to prohibit the state from contracting with financial institutions that refuse to do business with firearm-related entities.
Noem signed the executive order Friday afternoon.
For contracts that expend more than $100,000, bidders are required to affirm they have not discriminated against a firearm-related entity. If the statement is false, that constitutes grounds for contract termination.
The move mirrors her first executive order, which prohibits the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.
Noem said the discriminatory business practice hinders South Dakota residents’ rights to bear arms.
“Now we see banking institutions go after industries that they disagree with. Have you seen that? That they’re threatening to withhold funding, cancel loans, and holding them to a different standard than how the left is treated," Noem said. "None have been more impacted than those who support the second amendment. Well, not on my watch. I won’t stand for it. Not in South Dakota.”
The publicly displayed executive order signing and speech comes on the heels of several mass shootings in the U.S. at an elementary school in Tennessee and a bank in Kentucky.
Last year, Noem spoke at an NRA event in Texas days after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde. Nineteen children were killed.
Noem evokes what she calls the NRA position that “violence grows from unravelling family values.”
“What if when tragedies happen, families gathered together, bowed their heads, and prayed for wisdom and discernment on how to heal hearts and minds, rather than debate the methods used by those in society who do harm?” Noem said.
South Dakota has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country. It allows for permitless concealed carry—the first bill Noem signed as governor. The state also pays for federal background checks.
Shortly after the speech, the governor’s office sent out a press release about the executive order. Seven minutes later, the same spokesperson for the governor’s office sent out a transcript of her speech from a campaign account.
The NRA forum featured speeches and prerecorded messages from Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott and Donald Trump.
Noem has not taken any official action toward a run for president. However, she has said to Fox News that it’s “fair to say” she’s not ruling it out.
