Shooting Sports in Schools

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16 (1991)

A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA SUPPORTING RIMFIRE COMPETITION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF MONTANA.

WHEREAS, Montana has a long and honorable tradition of appropriate firearms use; and

WHEREAS, firearms and shooting are a common ingredient of life in Montana; and

WHEREAS, of the 50 states, Montana has the second highest percentage of residents purchasing hunting licenses; and

WHEREAS, as many as 85% of Montana households are estimated to contain firearms; and

WHEREAS, the right of Montana citizens to keep and bear arms is a right guaranteed under both the Montana and United States Constitutions; and

WHEREAS, it is expected that Montana citizens will continue a high level of private ownership of firearms; and

WHEREAS, a number of Olympic shooters, disproportionate to the size of Montana's population, have come from Montana; and

WHEREAS, the shooting sports are acceptable competitive activities throughout the World; and

WHEREAS, the shooting sports are not commonly recognized in Montana's secondary schools as acceptable competitive activities; and

WHEREAS, the shooting sports in Montana currently enjoy a safety record that cannot be matched by any other organized sport; and

WHEREAS, the shooting sports are an area of competition in which the small rural Montana secondary schools can compete on equal footing with the large urban Montana secondary schools; and

WHEREAS, the shooting sports are an area of competition that allows excellence and meaningful participation, regardless of gender or certain physical handicaps;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

(1) That the Montana Legislature encourage the adoption of rimfire shooting competition as an acceptable intramural and interscholastic sport in the high schools of Montana.

(2) That the Montana Legislature encourage the educators and educational administrators of Montana to rely on the expertise and resources of the shooting and sporting community in Montana to aid in implementing a program of rimfire shooting competition in and among the high schools of Montana.

(3) That the Montana Legislature expect schools to rely on the private resources of the Montana shooting community, rather than public funds, for the recommended implementation of the program.

(4) That the Montana Legislature encourage the educators and educational administrators of Montana, together with the Montana High School Association, to design and implement appropriate rimfire shooting competition in and among the high schools of Montana.