MISSOULA - The Secretary of State issued final approval today for backers to begin collecting signatures on I-141, an initiative to repeal a new state law requiring hunters and anglers to give social security numbers to get licenses. Backers will need to gather 19,862 valid signatures by June 23rd in order to qualify the measure for the general election ballot in November. If approved by the voters in November, the measure will become effective immediately.

I-141 is being launched by the Montana Shooting Sports Association, the primary political action organization in Montana asserting the rights and privileges of gun owners and hunters. MSSA is a statewide organization, and is most well-known by members of the Montana Legislature for successful work for gun owners and hunters before the Montana Legislature.

The controversy over use of social security numbers came to critical mass when the 1999 Legislature passed SB 76 which requires the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to collect SSNs from applicants before issuing conservation licenses. The legislature passed this law in attempt to comply with a federal law passed by Congress that allows federal agencies to withhold up to $58 million in federal money available to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services if Montana fails to collect SSNs on all licenses issued by the state.

Not all states have complied with the federal request. Michigan has received a waiver from federal agencies, and is still receiving all federal monies. New Mexico has refused to collect SSNs, and is still receiving federal monies. Other states, including Alaska, are currently considering rescinding laws mandating collection of SSNs from state residents.

The federal requirement for the state to collect SSNs from state residents comes into conflict with the guarantee of individual privacy in the Montana Constitution. The Montana Constitution has a clear reservation of the individual right to privacy at Article II, Section 10, which states: "The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest." I-141 backers claim that the Montana right to privacy is more compelling than the request by federal agencies for state agencies to compile dossiers on all citizens.

With I-141, MSSA will be launching a new concept in initiative campaigning by facilitating this campaign primarily from its Internet Website, http://www.mtssa.org. I-141 petitions and instructions can be downloaded from the MSSA site, so interested persons may print and circulate their copies of the I-141 petition. Interested persons may also obtain petitions via regular mail by calling MSSA at 549-1252.

MSSA president, Gary Marbut, commented, "Thousands of Montana hunters and anglers are angry about this intrusion into their personal privacy. Lots of people have told me that they are just not going to buy licenses at all this year. The people of Montana need an alternative to being victimized by a legislature that has sold our personal privacy for federal money. I-141 will offer citizens that alternative."

Many citizens are also concerned about identity theft , a type of fraud against individuals that usually begins when an unauthorized person gains access to the victim's SSN. While identity theft is a growing problem, few law enforcement agencies are equipped to investigate or prosecute the perpetrators. Marbut said, "Montana law enforcement agencies are more likely to understand how to deal with rustling than with electronic identity theft."

In identity theft crime, the perpetrator uses the victims SSN, name and address to apply for credit in the name of the victim. Having obtained credit, the thief runs up credit card bills, or other debt, then disappears. Later, collection agencies hound the victim for payment, often ruining the good credit of the victim, making future borrowing impossible. All entities advising about protection against identity theft caution not to release SSNs except for SS and tax purposes. Most organized fraud by identity theft is facilitated when the thief buys SSNs and personal information from low-level clerks or low-level government employees.

I-141 has an immediate effective date, so it will become effective immediately after the November general election, if it gains ballot status and if voters favor the measure at the election. However, that will not help the many Montanans who need to purchase conservation licenses this spring and summer for fishing, early season hunts, application for hunting permits., and hunts during the opening weeks of general big game season.

Backers of I-141 are concerned that opponents will characterize the initiative as an attempt to harm children. Marbut suggested, "Opponents of this measure will surely play the 'for the children' card. They will claim that if the initiative passes, Montana must lose all of $58 million per year, which is simply not true, and that thousands of Montana children will starve as a result. We know that most, if not all, of the welfare money at risk is soaked up by the welfare industry employees. They, the welfare industry employees, are the real constituency for this money. So, when you hear the squall over the possibility of losing federal money, it^Òs not really 'for the children', it's 'for the welfare employees' and their establishment. Although we may be concerned about the employment of these people, most Montanans probably will not choose to sell their personal privacy in order to insure these federally-funded public jobs. Otherwise, what other constitutional rights will we be asked to sell for federal dollars?"

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Information: Gary Marbut, mssa@mtssa.org
I-141 Questions and Answers: http://www.mtssa.org/nossn/faq.phtml