Montana's Gun Law to Challenge Federal Government

Times are changing, and fast. Montana passed a new gun law last month called the "Montana Firearms Freedom Act" What this law entails is that Montana will be exempt from Federal regulations on firearms inside the state. According ton this quote from the Governor in this New American article by Alex Newman, things are going to get real interesting. Montana Defies Feds on Guns.

""It's a gun bill, but it's another way of demonstrating the sovereignty of the state of Montana," said Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who signed the legislation. The law would exempt from federal regulation all guns, ammunition, and accessories that are made, sold, and kept within the state - provided they are stamped with the words "Made in Montana." The idea is that since the federal government justifies its regulations using the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, it has no authority to regulate intrastate trade in firearms."The tenth ammendment is Montana's main defense of their gun law actions.

"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." (wikipedia)The second amendment will also come into play."A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."(wikipedia)The second amendment appears to have some controversial issues concerning its application to the citizen's rights. Several meanings can be construed from the different versions, and some opponents to the Montana gun bill will be claiming the words were twisted to fit the cause. Even though it will surely be controversial, Utah is considering similar measures. According to an article in KSL.com by Andrew Adams, some Utah lawmakers are interested."Several Utah lawmakers want to do the same thing here. They say President Barack Obama and the Congress are anti-gun and will infringe on state's rights" Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, tells the Salt Lake Tribune he or another Utah lawmaker will introduce a similar measure next year.Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork, told the Tribune he wishes he'd thought of it and would support such a measure "in a heartbeat".There are several arguments for and against this law, but in any case it is obvious that there is much concern over the constant gun control efforts by the feds. The Constitution will be hotly debated by both sides in this controversial issue. Sovereignty, as well as civil rights come into play here. I would expect this to drag on for quite some time, with even more states getting interested as the media increases airtime on the subject. I also expect the federal Government to come out fighting with everything it has, possibly attempting to impose even more gun restrictions. It is much to soon to predict the outcome, but the story is sure to get intriguing.

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