Monday, September 16th, begins Montana’s official week to celebrate our
cherished hunting heritage. Montana law urges you to celebrate our
hunting heritage throughout this week in all lawful ways. So, plan some
sort of activity or event for this week.
I have told before the story about how this law was created in 1991.
I’ll post that story again for your interest just below the current
state law, which is:
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Official Observance Of Montana’s Hunting Heritage
1-1-226. Official observance of Montana’s hunting heritage. The week
beginning the third Monday in September is an official week of
observance in Montana to commemorate this state’s valued heritage of
hunting game animals. During this week, all Montanans are urged to:
(1) reflect on hunting as an expression of our culture and heritage;
(2) acknowledge that it is our community of hunters who have made the
greatest contributions to the establishment of current game animal
populations; and
(3) celebrate this culture and heritage in all lawful ways.
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Celebration of RKBA and Montana’s hunting heritage
In 1991, I was in the State Capitol lobbying for our successful
“shall-issue” concealed weapon permit bill. It was difficult to get the
attention of legislators because there was a tremendous controversy in
the Legislature over whether or not Montana should adopt Martin Luther
King Day as a paid state holiday. That was a marginal issue here in
Montana because there just aren’t many African-Americans living here.
For many legislators, it seemed an issue awfully remote for Montana.
But, the liberals in the Legislature really wanted the bill to pass,
mostly I think to flex their political muscle. That session, we had a
Republican governor, but the Democrats controlled the Senate and the
House by slim margins. That made for a lot of partisan squabbling.
I had a bit different take on the issue. Considering how very many gun
owners (90+% Montana households) and hunters we have in Montana, it
seemed to me that if we could have a day for Dr. King, we ought to have
a whole week to celebrate our right to keep and bear arms, and another
whole week to celebrate our culture and heritage of hunting.
So, I sat on a bench in the hallway of the Capitol and wrote out two
separate bills on a yellow, legal tablet. It was beyond the deadline in
the session when individual legislators could introduce new bills, but
it was not too late for whole committees to introduce new bills.
I took my two handwritten bill drafts to friends on the Senate Fish and
Game Committee. The Senate F&G Committee loved my two bills, especially
as a salve to a lot of hard feelings over the King holiday battle. So,
the House F&G Committee had my two bills quickly drafted in official
style, printed and introduced. The two bills were quickly approved by
the Committee, flew through the Senate and House. The RKBA bill, HB594,
passed the House by 90-7 on Third Reading, and passed the Senate by 45-5
on Third Reading. The Hunting Heritage bill, HB 613, passed the House
on Third Reading by 89-9, and passed the Senate on Third Reading by
43-7. Both bills were signed by Governor Racicot, and are now the law
in Montana, found at 1-1-224, M.C.A., and 1-1-226, M.C.A.
The 1991 Legislature did also pass the King bill. Martin Luther King Jr.
Day, is now a legal holiday in Montana on the third Monday in January.
Maybe state employees will eventually ask for two paid weeks off to hunt
and shoot.
Best wishes,
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