Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

HOUSE BILL NO. 246

INTRODUCED BY J. BONIEK, BENNETT, BUTCHER, CURTISS, RANDALL, WARBURTON



AN ACT EXEMPTING FROM FEDERAL REGULATION UNDER THE COMMERCE CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES A FIREARM, A FIREARM ACCESSORY, OR AMMUNITION MANUFACTURED AND RETAINED IN MONTANA; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Short title. [Sections 1 through 6] may be cited as the "Montana Firearms Freedom Act".

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.

Section 3. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 6], the following definitions apply:

(1) "Borders of Montana" means the boundaries of Montana described in Article I, section 1, of the 1889 Montana constitution.

(2) "Firearms accessories" means items that are used in conjunction with or mounted upon a firearm but are not essential to the basic function of a firearm, including but not limited to telescopic or laser sights, magazines, flash or sound suppressors, folding or aftermarket stocks and grips, speedloaders, ammunition carriers, and lights for target illumination.

(3) "Generic and insignificant parts" includes but is not limited to springs, screws, nuts, and pins.

(4) "Manufactured" means that a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition has been created from basic materials for functional usefulness, including but not limited to forging, casting, machining, or other processes for working materials.

Section 4. Prohibitions. A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Montana and that remains within the borders of Montana is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce. This section applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured in Montana from basic materials and that can be manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state. Generic and insignificant parts that have other manufacturing or consumer product applications are not firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition, and their importation into Montana and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in Montana does not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to federal regulation. It is declared by the legislature that basic materials, such as unmachined steel and unshaped wood, are not firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition and are not subject to congressional authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition under interstate commerce as if they were actually firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition. The authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic materials does not include authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition made in Montana from those materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into Montana from another state and that are subject to federal regulation as being in interstate commerce do not subject a firearm to federal regulation under interstate commerce because they are attached to or used in conjunction with a firearm in Montana.

Section 5. Exceptions. [Section 4] does not apply to:

(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.

Section 6. Marketing of firearms. A firearm manufactured or sold in Montana under [sections 1 through 6] must have the words "Made in Montana" clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.

Section 7. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 6] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 30, and the provisions of Title 30 apply to [sections 1 through 6].

Section 8. Applicability. [This act] applies to firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition that are manufactured, as defined in [section 3], and retained in Montana after October 1, 2009.

- END -


Wouldl like to see one just like this put up and passed by Tennessee!

i'd like to see that too and also a decleration of sovereignty to cover what ever that doesn't cover, we can control our state but being only one of fifty it's harder to control an overgrown dictatorship.i think they should just move D.C. and capitol hill along with illinois to Commie-fornia, and we can just cut it off in the border and let it drift off in the ocean.

Montana's been busy. The Governor also signed HB 228, AN ACT PRESERVING AND CLARIFYING LAWS RELATING TO THE RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE AND THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.
Here's what they got in the bill (from a Montana website) -

1. A clear policy statement by the Legislature that self defense is a natural right and that self defense by citizens reduces crime.

2. A clear policy statement by the Legislature that the right to bear arms in Montana is a fundamental (important legal term) and individual right.

3. Reversal of guilty-until-proven-innocent for people defending themselves. This provision requires the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person defending herself or himself was NOT justified in using force, rather than before, that defenders must have proven that they were justified in using force. Trust me, this is very important.

4. Legislative declaration of policy that a defender has no duty to summon help or flee before using force to defend, in any place the defender is lawfully.

5. Open carry is legal. This has been presumed in Montana, but never stated in law. People have been arrested for open carry. HB 228 will settle that issue for good.

6. A defender may announce "I have a gun," with no more fear of prosecution under Montana's overbroad felony "Intimidation" statute.

7. Defensive display. A person may show an attacker that the defender is armed, and may even draw the gun and still be clearly on the right side of the legal line if the defender genuinely fears attack.

8. Requirement that when police investigate a scene where self defense is claimed, investigators must collect evidence that may support a claim of self defense as well as any other evidence.

9. Improved conditions for a defender to use force in any occupied structure. This applies to all occupied structures, not just a dwelling.

10. Police may not destroy any firearms seized. Any firearms seized must either be returned to the rightful owner or sold back into the marketplace.

11. Landlords may not prevent tenants from possessing firearms. This not only protects travelers staying in motels, but also protects those who cannot afford to own their own homes.

12. Restoration of the right to bear arms for people convicted of non-violent crimes who have done their time and been released from state supervision. This will not apply to a person who committed a crime of violence or a crime where a weapon was used.

13. The ability to use reasonable force to effect the citizen's arrest of a person believed to have committed a crime - to be able to hold the person until law enforcement can be summoned (as happened recently in Thompson Falls).

14. An immediate effective date. All of this became effective while the ink from the Governor's signature was drying.

Tennessee needs these 2 bills, but I don't think our legislature has the COJones to push 'em through. We better do something soon...




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TN needs these 2 bills to pass in a hurry. We also need our Firearms freedom act passed ASAP. There are already plans to have the Montanna act hit fedral court as soon as it takes effect. Ours needs to be right there with it. Honestly there should be 49 more right there with it bunt I doubt that will happen.