Montanans Serious about the 2nd Amendment

[VegasGeorge]

I just noticed this article. Good for them, I say.

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NATION/757685551/1002

[junglebob]

The Montana constitution sounds better than Illinois's which says "Subject only to the police power, the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The "Subject only to the police power" being added in 1970.

I'd like to point out as good as it is Montana politicians don't follow their own state constitution - it says the right shall not be questioned! Does that mean a Montana citizen can conceal carry without a permit? Does it mean that there are no laws against a felon having a firearm. No laws against firearms carry in certain places? I bet there are. I'm not saying that Montana folks don't have much better laws than Illinois of course.

After checking the Montana laws on this website I see that carry in Montana is prohibited in buildings owned or leased by federal, state or local government, also financial institutions and any place where alcoholic beverages are sold, dispensed, and consumed. In Illinois I can "fanny pack transport" a firearm in a financial institution unless there is a local ordinance against it.

[Bill of Rights]

Does it mean that there are no laws against a felon having a firearm. No laws against firearms carry in certain places?

Unfortunately, Federal law does seem to trump state law. The "felon" thing and carry on airplanes, in federal buildings/offices, etc. are matters of federal law, albeit unConstitutionally. They can do something about the "carry permit" thing and about carry in banks and other gov't buildings, but as you pointed out, they choose not to do so.

It was pointed out (here, I think) a while back that the states that have the strictest laws preventing obtaining and carrying a firearm for the most part have the fewest laws on where one can carry.

On another chat network on which I have worked as an admin for many years, they've done something similar, virtually speaking. On that network, it is possible to put in descriptions of various items, rooms, people, to include smell descriptions, sound-of-voice descriptions, etc. to the end of creating an environment friendly to roleplaying. To prevent the database from becoming huge and unwieldy, we had a choice of emplacing a "quota" program, allowing people only so many total "things" they could own OR we could control the virtual monetary system, since they had to have "money" with which to make things. We chose the latter method, and it's worked well. Other, similar networks have gone the other direction and had that work well for them also. I like our system better, in which if you can pay for it, you can own it.

Back to this topic, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said last year (at the end of the legislative session) that he favored a law which said that if you held a CCW permit valid in Texas, you could carry anywhere in Texas. I have not heard any more about that since then. Any Texans able to shed some light on this?

Blessings,
B

[Sandhiller]

CI-1 All persons are by nature free and independent,
and have certain inherent and inalienable rights; among these are
life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to keep
and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and
others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use,
and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be
denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof. To
secure these rights, and the protection of property, governments
are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed.

Article 1 Section 1 of the Nebraska constitution. Do the pols pay attention? No. We have only recently gotten CCW here in NE and there is now a new AWB in the legislature, sponsored as usual by the PC folks of Omaha and Lincoln. Constitutions don't mean much if the law-givers simply ignore them and the people let them.