Announcement – MSSA Annual Meeting, 3/7

MSSA Annual Meeting

Saturday, March 7th

MSSA Annual Meeting. This email is to inform you of the MSSA Annual Meeting, to be held in Room 152 of the State Capitol building in Helena, beginning at 10 AM on Saturday, March 7th. At that meeting, the primary items of business will be a report on MSSA for the past year, election of officers and directors, discussion of the MSSA legislative agenda for the 2009 legislative session and other business. If you can attend, come in the door on the south side of the building. We’ll take a lunch break and should be done by 4:30 PM, maybe earlier.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Asking for more

I fear I ask too much of you, but the challenges MSSA faces just don’t quit.

Here’s the current problem. MSSA needs money for its SSN lawsuit, and you KNOW I don’t like asking for money. Two years ago, MSSA filed a lawsuit against the state asserting that the requirement for a person to give up their SSN to hunt or fish in Montana violates the right to privacy clearly spelled out in the Montana Constitution.

But, “It’s for the children” the State cried. Without extorting SSNs from license buyers, the state claims, they won’t be eligible for those millions of lovely “federal” dollars to pay for a batch of staff at Department of Public Health and Human Services in Helena.

“Bull!”, we say. A constitutional right is a constitutional right no matter how jealously some bureaucrats in Helena lust after the gravy train of “federal” money.

However, the District Court judge ruled in favor of the State (a good tactical position for our appeal, our attorneys say). Now, we need to appeal this District Court decision to the Montana Supreme Court, where we intended to end up all along to get a precedent-setting decision.

The good news is, we have a secret weapon to take to the Supreme Count (NO, I can’t tell you what it is – it’s SECRET!) The bad news is, we’ll have to pay to use it.

Our attorneys are working pro bono – contributing their own time because they believe in the cause. They have been covering many expenses, although MSSA has paid for some. But, the legal firms our attorneys work for are starting to drag their feet over expenses, and you can’t really blame them.

If we are going to appeal, we must file our notice of appeal in a week, at latest. Our attorneys will still donate their time for the appeal, but estimate about $3,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for the appeal to the Montana Supreme Court. MSSA just doesn’t have that money.

So, we need money and we need it soon.

Those of you able and willing to help can make a donation by credit or debit card using the PayPal button on the MSSA Website, OR you can mail in a check. If you mail a check, PLEASE send me an email telling me how much you are sending, so I will know where we sit for the appeal notice deadline coming up in a week. AND, please mail your check directly to me (because I check my personal P.O. Box every day, unlike the official MSSA P.O. Box). Make your check payable to “MSSA” and put “SSN lawsuit” in the memo line. Address the envelope to:

Gary Marbut
P.O. Box 16106
Missoula, Montana 59808

There’s more. A lot of you on the MSSA email list are not yet MSSA members. Isn’t it time you joined? Aren’t you getting a great benefit from MSSA?

There is an MSSA application form available from:
http://www.mtssa.org/membership.phtml

Join now! Print out the form, fill it out and mail it in. If you’re already a member, upgrade to Life membership. If you’re already Life, upgrade to Endowment, Patron or Benefactor.

I REALLY appreciate your support. This SSN lawsuit is important!

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Home Guard bill – HB 479

The bill to revitalize the Montana Home Guard is up for public hearing in the House State Administration Committee.

I wrote HB 479 (and I think it’s a great idea), but I will not be publicly supporting it because if I did it would get stigmatized as a “gun bill.”

HB 479 isn’t about guns. It is about creating a system of organized volunteers to deal with emergencies in Montana. You may read my explanation of HB 479 at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Legis09/HGExplanation.html

I hope you like the concept and will send notes of support to members of the House State Administration Committee. Get members’ email addresses from HERE or use the message form HERE to send them online messages.

Thanks loads,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Report on hearings – HB 427 and HJ 14

HB 427 (suppressors) and HJ 14 (guns in National Parks) had their public hearings before the House Judiciary Committee today.

Thanks to Rick LePage and Doug Nulle for showing up to speak for both bills. I sure hope the rest of you sent in messages to Committee members supporting these bills.

HB 427 is to repeal an archaic, Prohibition-era statute that makes it illegal to be “in a field or forest” or to hunt with a sound suppression device on a firearm. HB 427 was opposed by the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks, the Montana Wildlife Federation and the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association. MWF and MOGA opposed in order to curry favor with FWP. They often suck up to FWP. They didn’t offer much in the way of reasons for opposition.

Since proponents speak first, I addressed the likely arguments to be raised by opponents.

Fair chase? I pointed out that if it is contrary to “fair chase” principles to shoot game with reduced sound then FWP and the Legislature are obligated to end archery hunting. I also pointed out that suppressors do nothing to silence the sonic boom created by the bullets of nearly all hunting arms. Rick pointed out that once the primer lights, the chase is over, fair or otherwise, and that the bullet arrives before the sound.

If suppressors are allowed for hunting then poachers will use them? According to this argument, I said, if hunters are allowed to use motor vehicles (or guns) in association with hunting, then poachers will probably use them. Better to just ban motor vehicles. (This is a variation of the tired “guns cause crime” argument – pencils cause misspelled words and suppressors cause poaching.)

Need a law to “get” poachers who use suppressors for poaching? 45-8-336 would still make it a crime to commit an offense with a suppressor.

FWP also argued that since fallback 45-8-336 has a felony penalty, FWP prosecutors would be reluctant to charge game violators with illegally using a suppressor because it carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison. FWP had pictures of the “take” of poachers, even passed around an illegal, homemade suppressor that may have been involved in a poaching incident, but FWP didn’t connect legally-owned suppressors with poaching at all.

MWF and MOGA also alluded to tarnishing the image of hunting with the non-hunting public if people were allowed to use suppressors for hunting.

The Committee will take executive action on HB 427 soon, so keep those messages to House Judiciary Committee members coming.

HJ 14 expresses the support of the Legislature for the recent Department of Interior regulation change that would allow National Park visitors to pack concealed handguns for self defense. It also urges the Montana Attorney General to intervene on behalf of Montana citizens in lawsuits filed in D.C. asking the federal court to block the new DoI regs.

The Montana Human Rights Network testified against HJ 14, saying essentially that people having guns is too dangerous to be allowed – not much traction there.

A representative for Steve Bullock, our new Montana Attorney General, testified that the federal courts may not grant “standing” to Montana to participate in the reg-blocking lawsuits. I was called back to the witness stand by a legislator to comment on this possible lack of standing. I said that even though there may be standing issues, the Legislature should still take the HJ 14 position of supporting the new regs, and the AG should still make the attempt to get standing to intervene in the pending lawsuits.

Keep the messages coming to House Judiciary Committee members in support of HJ 14, too.

Thanks loads for your continued support.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Good news – more action

HB 228 passed the House today on Third Reading by a vote of 60-40. We picked up two more Democrats, John Fleming (D-St. Ignatius) and Mike Phillips (D-Bozeman). Thanks to them for their support. The actual vote list is HERE.

HB 228 now goes to the Senate to go through the same process all over again; committee public hearing, committee action, Second Reading and Third Reading. The Senate probably won’t take any action on HB 228 until after “Transmittal,” the mid-session point (February 26th) when all House bills must be transmitted to the Senate and all Senate bills must be transmitted to the House. I’ll keep you informed.

The next push will be over HB 427 (suppressors) and HJ 14 (guns in National Parks), both of which have public hearings before The House Judiciary Committee beginning at 8 AM this Thursday, 2/12. It’s time to start getting messages to members of the House Judiciary Committee asking for support of these two measures. Or, better yet, come to the hearing and speak for these bills. For information about these two bills, see the info on our Website at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Legis09/

Rather than repeat the information about how to contact legislators (you should be old hands by now), if you’ve forgotten, look over the information at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Legislative%20Process/

Also, the Home Guard bill, HB 479, will be up for public hearing before the House State Administration Committee at 8 AM on Friday, 2/13. Wednesday and/or Thursday you should get messages to State Admin Committee members asking for their support of HB 479. There is more information about HB 479 from the Website link above. My explanation of HB 479 is HERE .

That leaves shooting range funding still hanging in the House. This funding is part of HB 2, the state budget bill, and in that portion of the budget for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Last session we got $1 million in hunter license fee money appropriated by the Legislature to fund 50/50 matching grants to improve local ranges. That money is ALL spent or assigned to projects now – gone. This session we are asking that $1.2 million be appropriated. FWP has only $650,000 in their budget request for ranges, I’m told. The FWP portion of the state budget is before the Natural Resources Joint Subcommittee (a joint subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Claims Committee). These joint subcommittees have both Senators and Representatives on them. The members of the Natural Resources Subcommittee are:

Chair: Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh, D-Helena
Vice chair: Sen. Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek
Rep. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip
Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad
Rep. Robert Mehlhoff, D-Great Falls
Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey
Sen. Mitch Tropila, D-Great Falls

Please send these folks a note asking them to be sure to put $1.2 million of hunter license fee money into the FWP budget specifically for the Shooting Range Development Program. MSSA says that Montana people need safe and suitable places to shoot, that if we don’t keep people shooting they won’t be hunting and paying the future bills at FWP, and that this relatively minor expenditure of hunter license money is VERY popular with hunters.

Aren’t you glad the Legislature only meets every two years?

Thanks loads for your continued help!!

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

HB 228 video now on YouTube

The video of today’s Second Reading action on HB 228 is now on YouTube (thanks Jamie!) at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/InMT2009

Because YouTube will only accept video up to 10 minutes, it’s in six parts.

Thanks for your messages to legislators.

HB 228 IS on the Third Reading calendar for tomorrow (Tuesday). Fingers crossed.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Home Guard bill introduced – HB 479

The bill to revitalize the Montana Home Guard has been introduced as HB 479. I’ve written an explanation of the bill you may review HERE .

HB 479 has been assigned to the House State Administration Committee and a public hearing is scheduled Friday for 2/13.

I am doing a passable job of updating our Website page for our bills HERE. Check it out from time to time. It includes info about these next two …

Reminder: Both HB 427 (suppressors) and HJ 14 (guns in National Parks) will be up for public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee at 8 AM on Thursday morning, 2/12. I’ll shoot you a reminder tomorrow evening to send messages to Committee members. Show up if you can and you live near Helena. I’ll be there.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Top Cops Attack HB 228

Please excuse the frequent emailings about HB 228. We are REALLY in a political fight now over HB 228, MSSA’s flagship Self Defense bill.

The Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and the Montana County Attorneys Association have launched an all-out attack on HB 228, spreading some considerable lies about the bill in two hit pieces they are emailing to legislators.

I have responded to the details of those hit pieces, and have posted those pieces and my comments at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Legis09/ResponseMSPOAattack.html

Some legislators are regurgitating the “facts” spread by MSPOA and MCAA as if they were actually the truth. If you are communicating with legislators, you may need to be armed with the comment I’ve offered. Please have a look at it. Use this information as you need.

But please, keep up the emails and comments to legislators in support of HB 228. The most critical vote on HB 228 will occur Monday afternoon during Second Reading on the House floor (session begins at 1 PM and has audio live stream from the Legislature’s Website).

Finally, the bill to “Clarify and specify role of Home Guard” has finally been introduced as HB 429. My explanation of the bill is HERE . More about this later.

Thanks loads for your continued help with HB 228!!!!!!!!

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Action Needed on HB 228 Again Please

HB 228, MSSA’s flagship Self Defense bill, WILL be up for Second Reading on the House floor next Monday, 2/9. The recent NRA alert about this is pasted below and contains all essential information.

Please send short, polite emails to any or all House members asking them for or thanking them for their support of HB 228.

One friendly amendment will be offered to cure a problem with Section 3 of the bill, a fix needed because of a poorly-conceived amendment to Section 3 put on by the House Judiciary Committee. This helpful amendment will be offered on Second Reading by Rep. David Howard (R-Columbus). No other amendments to HB 228 should be supported.

One legislator, Rep. Jesse O’Hara (R-Great Falls) is making noises about opposing HB 228. Jesse says he’s listening to his good friend Jack Allen who works for the Great Falls Police Department.

Side note. Jack Allen was a Republican candidate for the Legislature, running against our star Rep. Deb Kottel (D-Great Falls). Jack made it known in Great Falls that he opposed MSSA’s Self Defense bill, although he declined to complete MSSA’s Candidate Questionnaire. MSSA endorsed Kottel because of her previous stalwart support of our Self Defense bill (HB 340 in 2007) and because of Jack Allen’s declared opposition to the bill. Guess what? Deb Kottel won that race by a significant margin (55%-45%), in some large part because of her endorsement by MSSA and the NRA.

So, it’s fair to say that Jack Allen lost his run for HD 20 because of his position on the Self Defense bill, and Rep. Jesse O’Hara now seems to want to base his position on HB 228 according to the advice he is getting from Jack Allen!

You may discuss this with Rep. O’Hara by sending him an email at Jesse59404@yahoo.com

Remember, don’t be rude – no name-calling. But that doesn’t mean you should not be firm. Will O’Hara base his position on listening to his cop buddy, or on what he hears from citizens?

If you are from the Great Falls area, be sure to mention that to O’Hara, and tell all your Great Falls buddies to contact him too. If your buddies don’t have email, they can leave a message for O’Hara by calling the Legislative Message Center at 444-4800.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

==============================================

Montana Self-Defense Legislation to be
Considered on Monday, February 9!
Please Contact Your State Representative Immediately!

The full House will consider House Bill 228 on Monday, February 9. It is critical that Montana NRA members and law-abiding gun owners contact their State Representatives to voice their support for the bill with no further amendments.

House Bill 228, sponsored by State Representative Krayton Kerns (R-58), is a broad piece of legislation that provides a number of specific protections for law-abiding citizens. The provisions of HB 228 clarify and expand the fundamental right of self-defense and protect law abiding citizens from undue prosecution should they ever have to exercise the right. HB 228, as amended by the House Judiciary Committee, still does the following:

* Clarifies the ability of law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm in plain view and to display the firearm for harmless defensive purposes;
* Allows a person who can lawfully possess a firearm and who doesn’t use it to commit a criminal offense to carry it concealed anywhere in the state without first obtaining governmental permission;
* Prevents landlords and hotel operators from restricting law-abiding citizens’ self-defense rights;
* Clarifies in statute the existing legal precedent that there is no duty to retreat from a threat before exercising the right to self-defense and allows a law-abiding citizen to use reasonable force in exercising the existing law that gives a private person the authority to arrest an offender;
* Ensures that self-defense claims are adequately considered during incident investigations; and,
* Shifts to the state, if self-defense is asserted by a defendant in a criminal case, the burden of proving an absence of justification.

For a section-by-section analysis of HB 228 to help you better understand and communicate with legislators, please visit http://progunleaders.org/Self-defense/.

Please contact your State Representative TODAY and respectfully urge them to support HB 228. Please call (406) 444-4800 to leave a message for your legislators. You may also use the “online message form” located at here. When contacting your State Representative, it is important that you be as respectful and courteous as possible. Long, rude, or disrespectful messages are counterproductive.

If you don’t know who your legislator is, please click here.

Once you identify your legislator, you can find email contact information by clicking on his or her name at the following alphabetical listing of legislators: http://leg.mt.gov/css/Sessions/61st/roster.asp?HouseID=0&SessionID=94 .

OSHA and Montana Shooting Ranges

(February 5, 2009)

The “Area Director” for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) located in Billings has recently sent correspondence to more than one range-operating gun group in Montana. They are asking to inspect the club’s facilities for compliance with federal regulations regarding lead pollution. The letters seen so far have been addressed to “Indoor Firing Range Employer.”

If your club receives such a letter, how should you respond?

If your club doesn’t have an indoor range, you should respond, by mail, return receipt requested, informing the sender that you do not have or maintain an indoor range – nothing more.

If your club doesn’t have any employees, you should respond, by mail, return receipt requested, informing the sender that you do not have any employees – nothing more.

Having employees triggers OSHA’s authority. No employees, no authority.

There are reports that teams of two OSHA employees may attempt to crowd their way into a facility using bluster or innocuous comments such as “We just want to look around.” If they are allowed in, they will inspect every inch of the facility trying to uncover violations. One will take LOTS of photographs while the other hunts for possible violations.

Because of this intrusiveness and the “fishing expedition” nature of these visits, it is recommended that you NOT give them permission to enter your facility unless they have a court order. If their authority over your facility is genuine, they will be able to get a court order. Otherwise not.

If OHSA personnel should subsequently return with a court order, the personnel should absolutely be limited to inspecting ONLY that which is listed on the court order. Any court order should specify what they may inspect. Any documents that are not identified on their face as coming from a court are not a court order. A valid court order should have the name and location of the issuing court, an original signature by the issuing judge or magistrate, and should narrowly specify what the personnel are allowed to inspect.

Whatever paperwork is presented, you should ask for a copy of what is offered. If the visiting personnel did not bring copies for you, you should ask to run the papers offered through your copy machine. Also, these visiting OSHA personnel should possess government-issued, photo ID cards that identify them specifically as OSHA personnel having inspection/enforcement powers and duties. It is recommended that you record all information on any IDs presented, photocopy if you can.

Whether indoor or outdoor, all Montana shooting ranges are advised to be cautious about having employees. Again, having employees is what gives OSHA authority and access to your facility. If your club reimburses any club officers or members for materials provided for your range, be sure to mark the paying check as a reimbursement and be sure the payment goes on your books that way. If your club is paying anyone providing services at your range, make sure that that person is operating as an “independent contractor.” Talk to a local CPA about what that means and how your club should arrange the work and arrange to pay the contractor for that person to qualify as an “independent contractor” (or “outside service”).

If your club has an indoor range AND documentable employees AND gets a letter from OSHA wanting to inspect your facility, it is recommended that you contact Eric Smart of MCS Environmental in Missoula at 728-7755. Eric is a longtime and dedicated shooter and hunter, and is more familiar with OSHA regulations and procedures than you want to become. Environmental consulting and remediation are Eric’s business – that’s how he makes his living. So, if you need him, don’t be surprised that he charges you for his service, but remember that he is your friend and knows a lot about this issue.

If your club gets to the point where it needs legal assistance to resolve any OSHA problems, call Lee Bruner of Butte, an attorney with Poore, Roth and Robinson, at 497-1200. Remember that this is also Lee’s business, so don’t expect to call him and visit at length without a bill. You negotiate that with Lee. His time is valuable. However, Lee is also a dedicated shooter and hunter and has been willing to study up on the OSHA/lead issue. So you don’t have to wonder if he’s on your side and you don’t have to pay his time to get generally up to speed about OSHA and lead.

Jim McDonald of Missoula is on the Board of the organization that owns the Deer Creek Shooting Center. Because Jim owns a manufacturing business, he also has experience with OSHA. He is willing to receive calls at 251-3800 x 2222 about OSHA and ranges.

For any other shooting range issues, explore the “Shooting Ranges” portion of the Montana Shooting Sports Association website at http://www.mtssa.org or send an email to MSSA at: mssa AT mtssa.org.

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