Gun bills meet no votes, vetos

HELENA – The House voted down a bill 44-56 Friday that opponents said elevated gun rights above all other rights.

Rep. Matthew Monforton, R-Bozeman, called his House Bill 598 the "Gun Owners Access to Justice Act" and said it would invigorate Montanans' right to keep and bear arms."

Through the bill, if someone filed a suit against the state because he or she thought his or her Second Amendment rights were infringed upon by the state and won the case, the state would be on the hook for the legal fees of both parties.

Monforton said some courts provide stronger protections for gun-owner rights and "it shouldn't matter where we live the degree of protection our right to keep and bear arms should have."

National organizations seek to deprive Americans of their gun rights and "they are coming to Montana next," he said. Monforton said the bill had the National Rifle Association seal of approval.

Rep. Ellie Hill, D-Missoula, read the lengthy list of opponents from the banking, natural resource extraction, cities, towns and chamber groups.

Opponents argued the bill gave gun owners special rights above anyone else who may have a constitutional-rights case, such as freedom of assembly or religion, and that it was so over-the-top that it could create a backlash.

The bill could have a negative impact on gun-owner rights in another way, said Rep. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings.

"The best place to establish public policy is right here in this chamber," he said. "This is another instance of an attempt to take jurisdiction from this body of lawfully elected legislators and place it in the hands of the courts."

Meanwhile, Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed House Bill 203, sponsored by Rep. Art Wittich, R-Bozeman. The bill sought to ban enforcement of a potential federal ban on firearms and magazines.

"The bill puts law enforcement officers in the position of violating laws they have sworn to uphold," Bullock said in a letter to the House. "There has been no action in Congress to enact a ban on firearms or magazines. I am and always have been a staunch supporter of our Second Amendment rights. This bill however is unnecessary political theater and puts law enforcement in an untenable position."

Bullock also vetoed House Bill 298, sponsored by Rep. Bill Harris, R-Winnett, which he said would eliminate Montana's concealed weapons permit process and is an "absurd concept that threatens the safety of our communities by not providing for the basic fundamentals of gun safety or mental health screening."

"If the logic of House Bill 298 were applied to other situations, there would be no need for a person to be licensed before driving our highways — all they would need to do would be to determine whether they were 'eligible' to drive. The same goes for pilot's licenses, building permits, hunting licenses or any other type of permit."

He returned House Bill 250 with a recommendation that it be amended so a suppressor be allowed during all lawful hunting and not just when the wildlife pursued is not protected by state or federal law. Suppressors provide important protection for hunters' ears, he said.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody.