Noem signs executive order barring state contracts with banks that discriminate against firearms industry

Firearms are increasingly coming under scrutiny of ESG activists

South Dakota executive branch agencies will not be allowed to sign a contract with businesses that discriminate against the firearms industry under an executive order signed by Gov. Kristi Noem on Friday.

Noem, who is nursing national political ambitions, signed the order while speaking at the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Indianapolis. In a statement announcing the executive order, she said it would protect the Second Amendment rights of the state’s residents.

“South Dakota is setting the standard for the most Second Amendment friendly state in the nation,” the statement said. “But it’s not just the media and big government that are attacking our rights. Now, we have seen banking institutions go after law-abiding gun owners. Well, not on my watch. I won’t stand for it, not in South Dakota.”

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