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:
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