Dear MSSA Friends,
MSSA’s legislative agenda is percolating along. This is a report on the status of our various bills. If the item starts with a bill number, (e.g., SB or HB), that means the bill has been introduced. If the item starts with an LC number, that means it has not been introduced yet, but will be soon.
Remember, you can set up a bill tracking account on the Legislature’s website using these numbers. The website will follow LCs into their bill stage once introduced. Be sure to add each bill to your account and to the “Que” if you want notice when the status of a bill changes.
Here’s the lineup with numbers and sponsors:
SB 176. Sen. Kenneth Bogner (R-Miles City). Non-discrimination over firearms. There are a number of ways that discrimination against firearms may be rearing its ugly head. Some lenders, banks, and credit or payment processors are refusing to provide services to entities that manufacture, distribute, repair, or sell firearms. Some insurers may decline to service firearm-related businesses or firearm owners. These are discriminatory. The Montana Constitution prohibits discrimination because of civil or political rights, which the right to keep and bear arms certainly is. MSSA’s legislation will prohibit discrimination against firearms manufacturers, distributors, sellers, and owners.
SB 127. Sen. Theresa Manzella (R-Hamilton). The cost of self-defense. A person who legitimately defends himself or herself may still be destroyed financially by an overzealous, frivolous, vindictive, or careless criminal prosecution. We propose that if a person is prosecuted for a crime, claims self-defense successfully and is not convicted, then the cost of the person’s defense must be awarded to the accused by the court. This would be a claim against the prosecutor’s budget. SB 127 is currently stuck in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but we’re working on getting it unstuck. Please message Committee members asking them to move SB 127 IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM (it had a “poison pill” amendment added in committee).
LC 2524. Rep. George Nikolokokos (R-Great Fassl). Loss of RKBA pending trial. In criminal prosecutions, it is standard fare for prosecutor’s to ask the court to strip the accused of the RKBA pending trial. In cases in which the accused used a weapon or was violent, this may be appropriate. But, in many cases it may not be, such as with non-violent crimes. Remember, innocent until proven guilty. Plus, a disarmament court order will get entered into “the system,” causing the person to become a “prohibited person” under federal law and stripped of the RKBA for life, because it is so difficult and expensive to get this prohibited status reversed in the federal system even if the person is not convicted of the state crime accused. Thus, a person could be charged with jaywalking, be slapped with a “no guns” order pending trial, be acquitted or have charges dropped, and still effectively lose the RKBA for life. MSSA’s bill will prohibit disarming orders before trial for people accused of non-violent crimes.
SJ 7. Sen. John Fuller (R-Kalispell). Higher education and shooting sports. Montana produces a number of competitive young shooters way disproportionate to our population size. Many Montana youth accept shooting scholarships at out-of-state universities because Montana offers no shooting programs. MSSA proposes a resolution urging the Board of Regents to encourage shooting sports and shooting teams at all institutions of higher education in Montana so that Montana youth may seek shooting programs and scholarships in Montana. The Montana University System supported SJ 7 before the Senate Education Committee and it passed the Senate with a vote of 49-1. On to the House.
HB 329. Rep. Ed Byrne (R-Bigfork). Ammunition Availability Act. This bill is to encourage the manufacture of powder, primers and cartridge brass in Montana, and to protect Montana consumers from supply shortages. MSSA got this bill passed in 2015, but with a 10-year sunset, which happened on December 31, 2024. HB 329 will remove the sunset, make the Act permanent, and restore some tax breaks lost in the 2015 session. HB 329 is scheduled for its first public hearing before the House Taxation Committee at 8AM this Friday, 2/7/25.
Please message Committee members to support HB 329. One important point is that the tax breaks for new businesses in this bill will not cost Montana one dime of lost existing revenue, since these businesses don’t exist in Montana now. If such businesses do start up, they will provide employment and will make Montana self sufficient for these important ammunition components.
LC0894. Rep. Lee Deming (R-Laurel). Sheriffs First. This bill would require the advanced written permission of the elected county sheriff before any federal officer could arrest, search, or seize in Montana (with a few narrow exceptions, such as on the US border). We originally thought of this as the “No More Wacos” bill, until the descriptor of “Sheriffs First” was suggested by GOA’s Larry Pratt. MSSA has gotten this bill passed twice before, only to have it vetoed by whoever was then Governor. We hope for a different outcome this time.
Your presence at committee hearings and your messages to legislators are IMPORTANT to helping MSSA get these good gun laws passed. We’re doing this for you. Please help.
Best wishes,
—
Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association