Page 5 | Montana Shooting Sports Association

Open lettter to Montana GOP – Zinke replacement

March 2, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

March 2, 2017

Montana Republican State Committee

Helena, Montana

Dear Committee Member,

The Montana Shooting Sports Association is the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners. We watch politics closely in Montana. In the last 30 years MSSA has gotten 67 pro-gun bills through the Montana Legislature and enacted into law (we’ve had a few more vetoed by various governors).

We wish to offer you our recommendation for a GOP candidate to fill the seat recently vacated by Congressman Zinke.

The good news is that there are a number of very good candidates to choose from. The less helpful news is that we cannot recommend just one best candidate. However, we can help you narrow the field by assuring you that there are four contenders who we believe would be very solid advocates for our cherished right to keep and bear arms – four known candidates, any of whom who would be great from our perspective.

Those four are, in alphabetical order: Greg Gianforte, Carl Glimm, Ken Miller, and Ed Walker.

Glimm, Miller, and Walker have all served in the Legislature and all three of them have a 100% voting record on firearms issues over multiple sessions of vote records we keep. Those 100% voting records are pure gold. We know Gianforte well, know his personal commitment to the right to keep and bear arms, and have a great candidate questionnaire from him from his run for Governor.

So, we recommend all four of those candidates to you without reservation.

Other currently known contenders for this nomination either have less stellar or no records of legislative votes, have no candidate questionnaire on file with us, or are otherwise unknown to us.

We hope this is helpful to you in making this important selection.

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Postmortem, HB 385 – School Safety Act

February 28, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

The Montana School Safety Act, HB 385, failed to pass Second Reading in the House yesterday, 2/27. HB 385 would have allowed a full-time school employee with a concealed weapon permit AND enhanced training to exercise that permit at school as long as the person’s firearm was always concealed and always secured.

The public education industry ramped up in opposition to HB 385. That included the teacher’s unions, the school administrators, and the school boards association. They heavily lobbied legislators, saying that guns in schools are just are just too dangerous around children, and that existing no-guns policies will keep children safe. Of course, they would never support a bill to prevent police from bringing guns into schools. Police guns are good, and safe around children, don’t you know. An unspoken but obvious element of the opposition argument is that school employees are too incompetent to be trusted with firearms around children. Hmmm. Do they know their people better than I do?

HB 385 failed on a 44-56 vote. All Democrat members of the House voted against HB 385, and the following 14 Republicans also voted against it:

Rob Cook, Conrad

Geraldine Custer, Forsyth

Jeff Essman, Billings

Ross Fitzgerald, Fairfield

Frank Garner, Kalispell

Bruce Grubbs, Bozeman

Jon Knokey, Bozeman

Denley Loge, St. Regis

Vince Ricci, Laurel

Walt Sales, Manhattan

Ray Shaw, Sheridan

Lola Sheldon-Galloway, Great Falls

Scott Staffanson, Sidney

Tom Welch, Dillon

Of course, I am disappointed that so many Republicans bought into the propaganda of the public education industry. But that’s for Montana gun owners to take up with these Representatives. MSSA’s job is to get the bills introduced and to provide you with the information to empower you to hold legislators accountable.

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Legislative update, February 21, 2017

February 22, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

Here’s the current status of MSSA bills and bills MSSA is supporting, and some requested action:

LC2322 – Exempt shooting ranges from property taxes

In finish drafting; to be introduced soon.

HB 151 – Protect shooting range funding (from FWP predation)

Waiting for action by House Fish and Game Committee.

! Send messages urging support to Committee members

*HB 246 – Post Office Carry

Transmitted to Governor on 2/20

*HB 251 – Remove some items from concealed weapons list

Passed House, referred to Senate Judiciary Committee

HB 262 – Permitless Carry

Transmitted to Governor on 2/20

! Send messages urging support to Governor

*HB 273 – Legal immigrant CWPs

Passed House, referred to Senate Judiciary Committee

HB 385 – Montana School Safety Act

Waiting action by House Judiciary Committee (likely 2/22)

! Send messages to support to Committee members

HB 494 – Restaurant Carry

Passed by House Judiciary Committee

Due on the House floor for Second Reading (likely 2/22)

! Send messages to any Representatives urging support

SB 99 – No local enforcement of new federal firearm or magazine bans

(Note: Amended by Senate Judiciary to add ammunition and

remove specific enforcement against violators.)

Passed by Senate on Second reading – 30-20

*SB 236 – Strengthen right to hunt, fish, and trap in the Montana Constitution

Waiting action by Senate Fish and Game Committee.

SJ 11 – Define “shall not be called in question”

Passed by Senate, transmitted to House.

* Not “MSSA bills” but supported by MSSA

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Legislative update, 02/20/17

February 20, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

I spoke in favor of MSSA’s Restaurant Carry bill, HB 494, before the House Judiciary Committee this morning (Monday, 02/20/17). The bad news is that I was the only proponent. The good news is that there were zero opponents.

I told the story of the Luby’s Massacre in Texas, where madman George Hennard drove his pickup through the front window of Luby’s Restaurant and then shot and wounded 44 people, killing 24. Dr. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp was there having dinner with her mother and father. She had left her handgun outside in her car because Texas law (then) made it a felony for Dr. Hupp to bring her firearm into the restaurant. Both Dr. Hupp’s mother and father died that day because Texas law prohibited Dr. Hopp from bring her handgun into the restaurant. She has said since that she’d much rather have faced felony criminal charges under Texas law than lose both parents. For more information about the Luby’s Massacre, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby’s_shooting

Today the Senate discussed SJR 11 (to define “shall not be called in question) on Second Reading and passed it by 31-18. It will advance to Third Reading tomorrow (Tuesday, 2/21). If it passes there (expected, and by the same vote), it will move on to the House.

Keep the messages going to the Governor on Permitless Carry (HB 262) and Post Office Carry (HB 246).

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Public hearing – Restaurant Carry

February 18, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

MSSA’s Restaurant Carry bill, HB 494, will have its public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee at 8 AM Monday, 2/20, in Room 137 of the Capitol.

Under current law, a person with a concealed weapon permit is not allowed to exercise that permit in a restaurant if the restaurant has a liquor license. HB 494 would remove that restriction for places where the major business is not alcohol.

HB 494 amends current law with this added language: “It is not an offense under (Prohibited Places statute – GM) to carry a concealed weapon while patronizing a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are not the chief item of sale.”

It just makes no sense if you have a CWP and are having dinner with your family at Applebees and drinking iced tea that you cannot defend your family just because Applebees has a liquor license.

HB 494 leaves in place 45-8-327, which makes it illegal to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance and also be in possession of a firearm, so the existence of that law should help sell HB 494 to legislators.

Please send messages to members of the committee asking for support of HB 494. As always, keep the message short and be polite. If you can, come speak to the committee at the public hearing.

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Permitless and P.O. Carry to Gov.

February 18, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

Both Permitless Carry (HB 262) and Post Office Carry (HB 246) have been “enrolled” (as having passed Senate and House) and are on their way to the Governor’s Office.

HB 262 would eliminate the requirement that lawful gun owners must get a government permit to put on a coat if wearing a gun in 6/10ths of 1% of Montana, inside city limits (open carry is allowed/legal throughout Montana, including inside cities, and permitless carry has been allowed/legal in Montana outside cities since 1991).

HB 246 would prevent state and local police from enforcing federal gun bans at Post Offices, including in P.O. parking lots. How many times have you gone to a Post Office to check mail or get stamps, not realizing that having a firearm in your vehicle violates federal law. In Printz v. US, the US Supreme Court held that states have no obligation to enforce federal laws, or that Congress may not commandeer the resources of state and local governments to effectuate federal programs.

Please contact Governor Bullock about both of these. You can try sending an email to bullock@stevebullock.com, or you can send a message via the governor’s Website at:

http://governor.mt.gov/Home/Contact/shareopinion

I recommend you do both. Be polite and be very brief. Begin your message with “Please sign HB xx.”

About HB 262, Permitless Carry, please make the point that HB 262 will NOT affect the permit issuance process in ANY way. In his 2015 veto of this bill, Governor Bullock claimed his veto was because the bill would do away with the permit issuance process. Not true, and we need to rebut this claim vigorously. Also, you might ask Bullock, “Why treat Montana’s urban dwellers as second class citizens, and as untrustworthy? Why not allow city dwellers the freedom their rural neighbors have enjoyed and not abused for a generation?”

Do it!

Thanks,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Restaurant Carry introduced as HB 494

February 17, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

MSSA’s Restaurant Carry bill has been introduced as HB 494 by Rep. Seth Berglee.

HB 494 will amend current law with this added language: “It is not an offense under (Prohibited Places statute – GM) to carry a concealed weapon while patronizing a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are not the chief item of sale.”

HB 494 will soon be assigned to the House Judiciary Committee (probably today) and then will quickly be scheduled for a public hearing. Be ready to act on HB 494 and I’ll let you know ASAP when a public hearing is scheduled.

Explanation for urgency: There is a deadline for most bills (ones not about money) in the Legislature, called “transmittal.” This a mid-session point when all House bills must be transmitted to the Senate, and Senate bills to the House, or they are dead. That transmittal deadline is coming up on March 1. It will take HB 494 a minimum of one day for a public hearing and action before committee, a minimum of a day to appear before the House on Second Reading, and another day for Third Reading. These are absolute minimums. Committee work and getting to and through Second Reading will probably take longer. It is because of the looming transmittal deadline that HB 494 will need to move quickly. Stay tuned on this.

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Montana RKBA week starts March 6th – celebrate!

February 16, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

The first full week of March, the 6th through the 12th, is set up by law in Montana as the official celebration of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. This is courtesy of a law MSSA got passed in 1991.

You are encouraged to get with others and plan some sort of local celebration for this week.

Here is what the law says:

“1-1-224. Observance of right to keep and bear arms. The week beginning the first Monday in March is an official week of observance to commemorate Montana’s valued heritage of the right of each person to keep and bear arms in the defense of his home, person, or property or in aid of civil power. During this week, all Montanans are urged to reflect on their right to keep and bear arms and to celebrate this right in lawful ways.”

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Legislative Preference List 021617

February 16, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

We are now in the peak of activity of the legislative session. With all the bills moving, it can be difficult to keep track of them. There is an easy solution to that problem.

The solution is to go to the Legislature’s Website, set up an account (takes about a minute), and then set up a “Preference List” (will take another three or four minutes). Set the account to send you email notices for any pending action on a bill on your Preference list. Done.

Then you will get email notices about pending bill actions, and it will be simple to check on bills’ progress – just go to your Preference List.

Okay, here’s how you do that. Go to the front page of the Legislature’s Website, at:

http://www.leg.mt.gov/css/default.asp

Click on “Bills” and then on “2017 LAWS” on the left side of the page. Near the bottom of the page that will take you to, on the left, click on the line that says “Establish a Preference Account”. Just follow the instructions from there. You’ll need to give an account name (whatever you can remember – could be “MSSA123” or your name) and a password (again, whatever you can remember).

Here is a list of the MSSA-related bills I’m tracking in my Preference List:

LC1177 (not introduced yet) – Restaurant Carry

LC2322 (not introduced yet) – Exempt shooting ranges from property tax payments

HB 151 – Secure shooting range funding

HB 246 – Post Office Carry

HB 251 – Remove certain items from conceal carry laws

HB 262 – Permitless Carry

HB 273 – Legal immigrant CWPs

HB 385 – School Safety Act

SB 99 – Prohibit enforcement of new federal gun laws by Montana public employees

SB 236 – Upgrade constitutional Right to Hunt (and fish and trap)

SJ 11 – Define “shall not be called in question”

To establish your Preference List for these bills, you will only need to enter the bill type (e.g., HB or SB), and the bill number.

Establishing a Preference list via the Legislature’s Website will simplify following these bills and staying informed about their progress.

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com

Report from Helena, 02/15/17

February 16, 2017 by mssa·Comments Off

Dear MSSA Friends,

Well, not exactly. I’m home now.

Tuesday morning at 8 AM I attended a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee to support MSSA’s School Safety Act, HB 385, to allow for armed teachers. Garrett Bacon of Helena also came to support the bill (thanks Garrett), but he was the only other proponent. There were about 30 Moms Demand Action there. Each side was allowed 20 minutes. One of the MDA bill opponents took up over 10 minutes of that time with unpersuasive testimony. Others of the 30 were frustrated when their side ran out of time and they were only allowed to state their name for the record. I must admit that it is frustrating when some clueless dolt burns most or all of your side’s time with wasted talk, but I admit to not being so disturbed when it happened to the other side. The committee has not yet taken action on the bill, but I think it likely the Committee will approve the bill. It’s not too late to send messages to Committee members asking them to support HB 385. Do it.

Tuesday afternoon, the Senate passed Permitless Carry (HB 262) and Post Office Carry (HB 246) on Second Reading. Both of those were passed by the Senate today on Third Reading. Since neither was amended by the Senate, both will now go to the Governor. In a different email to you (maybe tomorrow) I’ll offer information and suggestions for messages to the Governor about these two bills. Neither one passed with a veto-proof majority, which would be 34 votes in the Senate and 67 in the House.

Later on Tuesday afternoon I attended a public hearing before the House Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Committee to support HB 151, a bill to prevent FWP from using for other purposes the money the Legislature appropriates for the Shooting Range Development Program. There were several opponents, including FWP and their reliable sidekick the National Wildlife Federation. I told how FWP had diverted the SRDP funding from two previous legislative sessions. I think the Committee was sympathetic because legislators don’t like executive branch agencies and personnel ignoring legislative intent. Please contact the House FWP Committee and ask that committee members support HB 151.

BTW, HB 151 and HB 262 (Permitless Carry) were MSSA bills (bills for which we overtly asked for introduction) last session. They were not on the final MSSA legislative agenda this session, but we couldn’t hardly not support them when sponsors reintroduced them this session since they were introduced last session at MSSA’s request.

This morning at 9 AM I attended a public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of SB 99 and SJR 11. Garrett Bacon was there again in support (thanks again Garrett), but nobody else showed up to support these two MSSA bills.

Senate Joint Resolution 11 is the measure to provide the first authoritative definition for the critical phrase in the Montana Constitution “shall not be called in question.” Surprisingly, there were no opponents. I guess the Moms Demand Action wore themselves out on Tuesday.

SB 99 is the bill to prohibit state and local public employees (cops) from enforcing any new federal restrictions on firearms or magazines. SB 99 was opposed by county attorneys and the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, although the opposition was not as spirited as it has sometimes been in the past.

NEW BILL. A bill has been introduced for a referendum to upgrade the right to hunt, fish, and trap in the Montana Constitution, SB 236, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Fielder. It will have a public hearing tomorrow (2/16) before the Senate Fish and Game Committee. I emailed a letter of support for SB 236 from MSSA. Please send messages to the Committee in support of SB 236.

Every change to the Montana Constitution must be voted on by the people. To put SB 236 on the ballot requires 100 votes combined out of the 150 possible votes in the Senate and House. That’s a pretty heavy lift, so your ongoing support for SB 236 will be needed.

That’s enough for now.

Best wishes,

--   Gary Marbut, president  Montana Shooting Sports Association  https://www.mtssa.org  Author, Gun Laws of Montana  http://www.mtpublish.com