Montana Governor Seeks To Exempt Montana Guns From Federal Regulation

• April 17, 2009

Only guns made, sold and possessed in Montana, of course, which means the bill has a limited scope. But the intent here is to send a message to the federal government about overstepping their bounds. The Constitution may give Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce (I don’t think gun control is what the founders had in mind with that particular clause, but that’s a subject for another post), but it doesn’t give the federal government the power to regulate commerce – up to and including guns – that takes place entirely within a given state.
This is a bid for federalism. The same effort Governor Rick Perry in Texas has taken up. And this one is being pushed by a Democrat Governor. One Barry Schweitzer.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed into law a bill that aims to exempt Montana-made guns from federal regulation, adding firepower to a battery of legislative efforts to assert states’ rights across the nation.
“It’s a gun bill, but it’s another way of demonstrating the sovereignty of the state of Montana,” Democrat Schweitzer said.
Since the law applies only to those guns that are made and kept in Montana, its impact is limited. The state is home to just a handful of specialty gun makers, known for recreating rifles used to settle the West, and most of their customers are out-of-state.
But supporters of the new law hope it triggers a court case testing the legal basis for federal rules governing gun sales.

Good on Schweitzer for signing this bill into law. Democrat or not, I’m behind him on this one.
Because this is exactly what the country needs. A good, healthy debate (followed hopefully by a good deal of reform) about the appropriate role of federal government and federal overreach. The states are sovereign, per the 10th amendment, in all matters not specifically reserved to the federal government in the Constitution. We need to get back to that.

Tags: Asshats, Domestic Issues, Guns, Politics

http://boyddrivefollies.blogspot.com/ Good Ol Boy

Wish our REPUBLICAN governor in Nord Akota would do or say something like this. Yeah right.

Frank Zappa’s “Movin’ to Montana Soon” just keeps going round and round in my head!

Gonna be a dental floss tycon- Thanks Sigfan!
JamesMT

The MT Governor is riding the coat tails of others who deserve credit for this bill. He is just signing the bill folks. Gary Marbut and Representative Joel Boniek deserve the credit.
AR-15

If Gov. Schweitzer is such a big 2ndA supporter, why in the hell did he back a radical gun hating piece of dog shit like Obama for POTUS? What a phony fucker.
Oops, I suppose I’ll be put on Napolitano’s list again for that FACTUAL statement.
http://twitter.com/r0ckH0pp3r sayanything-3285

Barry Schweitzer “politically” knows what is good for him.

Doesn’t want to be “left swinging” on the state capital building in Helena.
http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

There are people being put in jail who followed California’s medical marijuana law.

I love the thought behind this, but I wouldn’t rely on it to keep you out of federal jail.
robert108

Long live the Tenth Amendment!
SigFan

Frank Zappa’s “Movin’ to Montana Soon” just keeps going round and round in my head!
jimmypop

this rocks. ND needs to do it.
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/entry/homosexuality_is_wrong_-_a_compendium move_zig

This has another implication, and very likely fully intended by the drafters of this law — is to pick a predictable Constitutional fight. The current state of State vs. Federal law is very bad for the states. The current state of the SCOTUS, however, is better than it has been in a very long time.

Since time is very short for me, I will skip, for the moment, my normal linking to the cases or topics I bring up.

Back during the depression there was one case about a farmer who raised his own crops, wholly for personal use. The Court came down on the side of Federal regulation, using the tortured logic that in aggregate if everyone were to start raising their own food it would affect the prices of food nationally. Talk about a Rube Goldberg way of making a connection.

Another case, styled something akin to Hogan vs Surface Mining, was a serious blow for States’s Rights (to make it clear, States may not have rights, per se, but they do reserve autonomy and authority to themselves, that which were not enumerated in the Constitution)

But the Federal authority, over the years and turbo-boosted by events like the Civil War, WWI, the Depression and WWII, has been steadily ratcheting power over to itself at the expense of the States and the People.

Under Reagan and the Contract with America, the watchword was devolution — or returning to the States the autonomy which rightly rested with the States.

You will find that there is a see-saw battle between Americans, when they occasionally come into power, and the Statists, whose purpose has been and remains to seize and maintain power — Constitutional restrictions be damned.

So what has happened over time is that under concepts like the Dormant Commerce Clause and the like, the have sought to regulate every damn thing that can be regulated.

If it moves across state lines, if it can possibly move across state lines, if the Federal government has occupied the field in regulating at given area — passing a state law that, say, the ATF otherwise claims ownership of, is really in your face in the minds of the Statists.

The Gov is picking a fight with this law, but fighting is often how corrections are made.
http://twitter.com/r0ckH0pp3r sayanything-3285

two conservatives ran for governor in Montana.

they flipped a coin for party affiliation.

Barry Schweitzer lost!
Kay

I have a very liberal democratic acquaintance in Montana who was going on and on and on about a democrat winning the governorship there–in my opinion Schweitzer had to run somewhat conservatively in order to win…..
Bat One

There’s another aspect to Gov. Schweitzer’s gun law. It’s an open invitation for gun manufacturers, craftsmen, and related artisans to relocate to Montana or open a manufacturing facility in the state. Individual freedom begets economic development.
http://ndgoon.blogspot.com/ goon

If Gov. Schweitzer is such a big 2ndA supporter, why in the hell did he back a radical gun hating piece of dog shit like Obama for POTUS? What a phony fucker.
Oops, I suppose I’ll be put on Napolitano’s list again for that FACTUAL statement.

Yeah good point.
Rezistik

A very important bill. Hope it makes it to Michigan and sweeps across the states. Far too many regulations on the gun industry. Far as I am concerned the government doesn’t need to know you have a gun. One of the few industries that should be exempt from regulations I think. I mean, the Second Amendment is basically the Amendment that gives you the right to rebel against any tyranny of the state, it gives you the right to protect the rest of them.
http://www.moszer.net/ Moszer

This is a back door way to open up the Class 3 registry as well. Which would make a lot of gun banning types head explode.

Class 3 means full auto, which are legal to own but the supply is limited to those registered before 1986 so the price is almost 10k for anything good on that list.
http://ndgoon.blogspot.com/ goon

There’s another aspect to Gov. Schweitzer’s gun law. It’s an open invitation for gun manufacturers, craftsmen, and related artisans to relocate to Montana or open a manufacturing facility in the state. Individual freedom begets economic development.

Very smart idea.
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/sparkiearbuckle sayanything-81

its sad that this bill is rhetorical and that it even needs to exist.
for shame, obama.

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Montana Governor Seeks To Exempt Montana Guns From Federal Regulation

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