Montana Fires First Shot in 2nd Amendment Battle

Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

These two important Amendments are about local control. Specifically, if the Constitution doesn't specifically allow the Federal Government to do something, they do not have the power to do so.

I wrote a little while back about the myriad of states that are passing various resolutions (and bills) related to telling the Government to back off, Montana has just raised the bar...quite high.

Text of Montana House Bill 246

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has now signed into law Montana House Bill 246. This bill, in essence, calls the Feds on their Interstate Commerce Clause bluff regarding regulating the sale and possession of firearms. To wit, any firearms or ammunition manufactured in Montana, and stamped to indicate so, that are not:

(1) a firearm that cannot be carried and used by one person;

(2) a firearm that has a bore diameter greater than 1 1/2 inches and that uses smokeless powder, not black powder, as a propellant;

(3) ammunition with a projectile that explodes using an explosion of chemical energy after the projectile leaves the firearm; or

(4) a firearm that discharges two or more projectiles with one activation of the trigger or other firing device.

will be legal to own within the State of Montana once this law takes effect. Much like the high capacity magazine ban in some states, entering into another state possessing a Montana made firearm that violates Federal Law might not be a great idea, but this bill essentially attempts to neuter the ATF within the boundaries of Montana.

Want your rifle to have a 12 (or even 10) inch barrel? A pistol grip? A bayonet lug? Feds say you can't? If it's made in Montana, and you're a resident of the state and stay there, you can have it (assuming no Montana state laws to the contrary).

What will the result be? There lies the rub. Much like the Feds like to raid medical marijuana growers in states where it is legal for medicinal purposes, I expect some people are going to get harassed and arrested by Federal agents over this. The Feds just can't grasp the idea of State Sovereignty.

The key will lie in how Montana responds.

According to the bill:

Section 2. Legislative declarations of authority. The legislature declares that the authority for [sections 1 through 6] is the following:

(1) The 10th amendment to the United States constitution guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the constitution and reserves to the state and people of Montana certain powers as they were understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those powers is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

(2) The ninth amendment to the United States constitution guarantees to the people rights not granted in the constitution and reserves to the people of Montana certain rights as they were understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

(3) The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the 9th and 10th amendments to the United States constitution, particularly if not expressly preempted by federal law. Congress has not expressly preempted state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition.

(4) The second amendment to the United States constitution reserves to the people the right to keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

(5) Article II, section 12, of the Montana constitution clearly secures to Montana citizens, and prohibits government interference with, the right of individual Montana citizens to keep and bear arms. This constitutional protection is unchanged from the 1889 Montana constitution, which was approved by congress and the people of Montana, and the right exists as it was understood at the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

Montana has been rumbling about the possibility of secession in the face of Federal Tyranny now for a few months. Their basic premise is that their compact with the Federal Government of the United States is in jeopardy due to the ever encroaching un-Constitutional authority being wielded by an out of control Washington D.C.

What will Montana's response be if Congress moves to "expressly preempt state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition"???

Just how far will they take it?