Interview With Will Graves: Author, “Wolves in Russia: Anxiety Through The Ages”

Below is an interview, moderated by Jim Beers, with Will Graves, author. It took place on January 24, 2010 in response to reports of cystic Hydatid disease from worms that have been reported in wolves in Idaho and Montana.

Jim Beers is a retired US Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Biologist, Special Agent, Refuge Manager, Wetlands Biologist, and Congressional Fellow. He was stationed in North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, and Washington DC. He also served as a US Navy Line Officer in the western Pacific and on Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. He has worked for the Utah Fish & Game, Minneapolis Police Department, and as a Security Supervisor in Washington, DC. He testified three times before Congress; twice regarding the theft by the US Fish & Wildlife Service of $45 to 60 Million from State fish and wildlife funds and once in opposition to expanding Federal Invasive Species authority. He resides in Eagan, Minnesota with his wife of many decades.

Jim Beers is available for consulting or to speak.

Learn more about Will Graves below. Read more

Feds Respond to Firearms Freedom Act Lawsuit

Motion to Dismiss “Expected”

MISSOULA – The United States has made its first response to a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Missoula to test the Montana Firearms Freedom Act (MFFA), passed by the 2009 Legislature and signed into law by Governor Schweitzer.

The MFFA declares that any firearms, ammunition or firearms accessories made and retained in Montana are not subject to federal regulation under the power given to Congress in the U.S. Constitution to regulate commerce “among the several states.” The MFFA is a states’ rights challenge on Tenth Amendment grounds, with firearms serving as the vehicle for the challenge. Read more

Montana High Court Says SSNs To Hunt And Fish Necessary

Gun Group Frustrated with Supreme Court Privacy Opinion Constitutional Rights for Sale?

MISSOULA – The Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) was handed an unfavorable decision by the Montana Supreme Court in MSSA’s lawsuit claiming that it violates the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution for Montanans to be required to divulge a Social Security Number (SSN) in order to legally hunt and fish in Montana.

This MSSA lawsuit has been percolating through the courts since January of 2006. While MSSA argued that the requirement to provide an SSN to hunt and fish was unconstitutional, the State of Montana contended that it must collect SSNs to remain eligible under federal law for federal funds for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Read more

Washington Introduces “Firearms Freedom Act” Bill

Representative Matt Shea has introduced HB 2709, the Washington Firearms Freedom Act, I believe now the 15th such bill to be introduced copying our Montana Firearms Freedom Act(MFFA).

In MSSA’s lawsuit to validate the principles of the MFFA, we have a preliminary pre-trial conference coming up on February 2. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the United States (defendants in the lawsuit) have not responded to the suit yet.

We will continue to post new information about this movement at:
http://www.FirearmsFreedomAct.com

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

MSSA, 2009 Review

Legislature begins. 2009 began for MSSA with the start of the Montana legislative session in January. This effort actually began in 2008. The 2009 MSSA legislative agenda was set by the MSSA Board of Directors at the 2008 Annual Meeting in March of 2008 in Helena, and followed by the MSSA Candidate Questionnaire for legislative candidates about the pending MSSA agenda for the 2009 Legislature. Based on Candidate Questionnaire responses and incumbent legislator voting records, MSSA rated and endorsed candidates for the Legislature, and publicized that information.

2008 elections. MSSA’s Self Defense bill and Firearms Freedom Act had been killed by Senate Democrats in 2005 and 2007 on party-line votes. Our goal in the 2008 elections was to sufficiently change the makeup of the Montana Senate that we could get these two bills passed. MSSA took positions in 27 legislative races and was successful in 19 of those. MSSA supported and endorsed one pro-gun, pro-liberty Democrat for reelection, successfully. The rest of the candidates MSSA supported were Republicans. MSSA is non-partisan and supports whatever candidates are deemed to most likely support the issues we advance. MSSA’s successes in the 2008 elections set the stage for the 2009 legislative session.

Flagship bills. MSSA’s two flagship bills in the 2009 session were HB 228, our Self Defense bill to clarify Montana laws about when and how a person may possess and use a firearm for self defense without fear of prosecution, and HB 246, the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, which declares that any firearms made and retained in Montana are not subject to federal authority under the power of Congress to regulate commerce “among the several states.”

HB 228 opposition. HB 228 was opposed by the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, largely at the urging of Helena Mayor Jim Smith, who was employed as the lobbyist for MSPOA and who persuaded MSPOA that HB 228 was a dragon that could only be slain by dragonslayer Smith. That is, Smith needed to justify that MSPOA needed to pay him handsomely for lobbying, and that HB 228 was a huge threat to MSPOA. In surprising political naiveté, MSPOA went along with Smith.

HB 228 was also opposed by the Montana County Attorneys Association, largely at the urging of Dennis Paxinos, County Attorney for Yellowstone County (Billings). Paxinos was himself much of the impetus for HB 228 because of his history of overzealous prosecutions of gun owners using firearms for self defense in Yellowstone County. Paxinos appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and spoke as an opponent to HB 228, but he did such a miserable job in this appearance that he actually helped HB 228 more than he hurt it. He did not appear when HB 228 was before the Senate Judiciary Committee. One might suppose that the Montana County Attorneys Association recognized Paxinos’s lousy performance before the House and asked him to stay away from the Senate hearing.

HB 246, the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, sponsored by Rep. Joel Boniek of the Livingston area really didn’t have any organized opposition in the Legislature. The most numerous group to vote against HB 246 in the House were Democrat women, although a few Democrat “girly men” voted against it as well, such as Dick Barrett, Tim Furey and Dave McAlpin of Missoula, Galen Hollenbaugh of Helena, David Roundstone of Busby, and Dan Villa of Anaconda.

Although a number of Democrats supported HB 246 in the House, all Republicans supported it.

In the Senate, MSSA had achieved its goal of sufficiently changing the makeup of the Senate so that we could get HB 246 (and HB 228) passed. All who voted against HB 246 in the Senate were Democrats, including senators from such gun-friendly places as Butte, Anaconda and Great Falls. No Republicans voted against HB 246 and a couple of Democrats swung into support.

HB 228, MSSA’s Self Defense bill, also received support primarily from Republicans and opposition primarily from Democrats, but with notable exceptions. Democrat Deb Kottel of Great Falls was a stalwart, critical and valued supporter of HB 228 in the House. Her active support for this important bill will not be forgotten. The only Republican to vote against HB 228 was Rep. Tom Berry of Roundup. All other opposition was from Democrats – the usual suspects, although a very few Democrats did support HB 228 in the House.

Partisan? Some people in the political world claim that MSSA is only some sort of subset of the Republican Party. I can certainly understand how it would appear this way. But, cause and effect appears to confuse these simple-minded folks. MSSA is the primary political advocate for gun owners in Montana. We support and push pro-gun stuff. We support those who support our issues, and oppose those who oppose our issues. When nearly all Republicans support our issues and nearly all Democrats vote against our issues, how surprising is it that we support mostly Republicans come election time. Important clue to Democrats: Support our issues with your votes and we will support you at election time, just as we did with Deb Kottel (D-Great Falls). It matters nothing to us that she’s a Democrat, but it matters everything that she supports our bills, both with votes and with committee and floor arguments.

Other bills; wolves. MSSA also had other bills before the 2009 Legislature. Senator Joe Balyeat (a member of the MSSA Board of Directors) carried our bill to wrest control of wolves away from the feds, SB 183. This bill died in the Senate because Republicans Taylor Brown (Huntley/Billings; spoken of as possible candidate for Governor), Jeff Essman (Billings) and Ryan Zinke (Whitefish) voted against the bill, as did all Senate Democrats except Bradley Hamlett (a rancher from Cascade who supported the bill). Some legislators just don’t have the stones to be willing to stand up to the federal government. Of course, those who opposed the bill will claim a different reason than “You can’t buck city hall.” They will probably assert that there was a particular wrinkle in the bill that made them uncomfortable. The truth is that they’re just comfortable letting the feds run the wolf show in Montana, and believed the argument that the federal courts would save Montana’s herds of huntable game from wolves.

Because this bill was a Senate Bill, and defeated in the Senate, it never got to the House.

Student hunting. Senator Balyeat also carried successfully for MSSA our bill, SB 185, to allow full-time, non-resident college students to hunt for the same price as residents in Montana. In October of 2008 I’d attended the White House Policy Conference on North American Wildlife. Much ado was made there of the need to recruit hunters to our ranks, both to continue paying the bills for wildlife management (their chief objective) and to keep the voter ranks filled with hunting-friendly people (my chief objective). So, the purpose of SB 185 was hunter recruitment, because college students typically cannot afford the cost of non-resident hunting licenses in Montana. It was also about hunter retention because it also authorized kids from Montana going to college full time in other states to return to Montana and hunt for the same cost as residents.

Guns in National Parks. Rep. Wendy Warburton of Havre carried MSSA’s HJ 14, a Joint Resolution opposing a lawsuit by the Brady Campaign to block new regulations allowing self defense guns in National Parks, and urging the Montana Attorney General to intervene in that lawsuit to protect the rights of Montana citizens. HJ 14 passed handily, but later became unnecessary when Congress enacted legislation to mandate what the Department of Interior regulation change had proposed.

Suppressors. Rep. Boniek also sponsored a last-minute bill, HB 427, to repeal 87-3-123, M.C.A., “Use of silencers or mufflers on firearms forbidden. No person may take into a field or forest or have in his possession while out hunting any device or mechanism devised to silence, muffle, or minimize the report of any firearms, whether such device or mechanism be operated from or attached to any firearm.” This nonsensical Prohibition-era law is overbroad, unenforced, and needed to be repealed. Unfortunately, HB 427 died in the House on Second Reading because of opposition and mischaracterization by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and key opposition by Republican Rep. Mike Milburn of Cascade. Milburn argued on the House floor that if people were allowed to possess suppressors he wouldn’t know when people were trespassing on his ranch. I still mean to get back to Milburn and ask him to carry a bill next session requiring that hunters remove the mufflers from all their vehicles for the duration of hunting season, just so everyone will be able to hear where they are, for exactly the reason he argued against suppressors on the House floor. Anyone who lives near Cascade and has or has access to a vehicle without a muffler should go visit Mike, just to say hello. He definitely needs the experience of a lot of friendly people with unmuffled vehicles showing up to visit.

Range funding. We asked for $1.2 million of hunter license fees be appropriated for the Shooting Range Development Program, an MSSA-established program through FWP which makes matching grants to local clubs to establish or improve shooting ranges. FWP and the Schweitzer administration opposed any increase over the $600,000 already in the Executive Budget for shooting ranges. Unfortunately, this item got caught up in the wrangling over the state budget, some balls were dropped, and we got only the $600K already in the executive budget.

Home Guard. Rep. Boniek also carried a bill to refurbish the Montana laws relating to formulation of Montana Home Guard units, HB 479, as a Montana alternative to the federally-controlled Montana National Guard. In a clear turf-protection move, this bill was adamantly opposed in committee by the National Guard in the form of a general deputy-commander of the NG who expressed concern that the refurbished Montana Home Guard would not be under the “control” of the NG (HB 479 would have placed the MHG under the control of the Governor and the local sheriff). Because of this NG opposition, committee Democrats voted against the bill causing it to fail in committee.

Military brass destruction fix. In March the Pentagon sent a notice to all military installations requiring them to destroy fired brass before selling it for scrap, to prevent it being used to reload ammunition for civilian consumption. MSSA jumped on that issue and with the quick assistance of U.S. Senators Baucus and Tester the Pentagon reversed their new policy in less than a week. Georgia Arms and the Jews for the Preservation for Firearms Ownership also worked on this while the NRA “studied” the problem.

Fox News. In May I was invited to appear on Fox News’s Glenn Beck show to discuss the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. Fox paid for my travel to New York for the show. HB 246 sponsor Rep. Joel Boniek was on the show too. A link to the YouTube video of that show is on the FFA Website.

More MFFAs. In April and May, other states began introducing clones of the MFFA; Texas, Alaska, South Carolina and Minnesota.

Complaint about me. In May, Helena Mayor and paid lobbyist for the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association Jim Smith filed a Complaint against me with the Commissioner of Political Practices, whining that he’d been bested on HB 228 because of unfair playing conditions – that I wasn’t registered as a lobbyist with the CPP. I responded to the Complaint that Smith was just sissy and a sore loser, and that I was not required by Montana law to register since I was not paid for the effort as Smith was – First Amendment stuff. That Complaint is still pending – the CPP has not yet acted on it.

Rifle matches. From April through October, MSSA put on long-range, field, precision rifle matches near Potomac, Montana. These are fundraisers for the MSSA Political Committee, our federal political action committee that accumulates funds for involvement in elections. They are also challenging matches and a LOT of fun. Since there are no trophies or prizes, the matches are not highly competitive. They are more a chance to play with rifles at distance, under organized and safe circumstances, and to learn about long range shooting. There is a Hunter Class with 41 steel targets downrange between 100 and 300 yards from the shooting positions, and there is a Precision Class with 65 steel targets downrange between 300 and 1,000 yards. All shooting is done under field conditions. We will be doing the match again in 2010 on the third Saturday of each month, beginning in April. See the Website for more detail.

Lawsuit. MSSA had planned to file a lawsuit in federal court to validate the principles of the MFFA, the lawsuit to be filed on the day HB 246 became effective – October 1st. I sent a lot of time in the spring and over the summer raveling all the loose ends necessary to launch this litigation. I needed to locate attorneys who I trusted to do the right sort of job with the litigation, get them working together, and begin planning the litigation strategy. I had a lot of individual conversations with attorneys and a couple of conference calls to discuss the affair.

No Pin Shoot. MSSA did not hold its annual Bowling Pin Shoot in Missoula in July, the first time in 26 years. It had become too much administrative hassle for me with too few people turning out to shoot pins and raise funds for MSSA.

MFFA coverage. There was a lot of national coverage of the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, including in Time, the Washington Times, L.A. Times, CBS News, Fox News, CNN, the Associated Press and scores or hundreds of firearms-related Internet blogs. In Spring and Summer I did scores of interviews and talk shows about the FFA concept and movement. There are links to many of these articles on the FFA Website.

Speaking. In July, I attended and spoke at events in Eureka and Polson where Sheriff Richard Mack also spoke, delivering his power-to-the-elected-sheriff message.

Oppose Sotomayor. In July MSSA also took a position in opposition to the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. We communicated this opposition to our U.S. senators Baucus and Tester. Both voted for her confirmation and both assured us that Sotomayor has the highest respect for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We’ll see. Don’t hold your breath.

Ammunition shortage. In July, an article I’d written about the nationwide ammunition shortage was printed in Front Sight magazine. I circulated a copy of that article to the MSSA email list.

BATFE and the MFFA. Also in July, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent an advisory letter to all federally-licensed dealers in Montana warning them to not attempt to make the items authorized under the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. The BATFE warned FFLs that making such items could result in felony prosecutions for violation of federal laws.

FFA.com. Because of the nationwide interest in the Firearm Freedom Act movement, in July we started the FirearmsFreedomAct .com Website to track and pool information about the FFA movement.

Wolf hunting. In August, Idaho announced that its Fall wolf hunt would be a go. One stalwart Idaho F&G Commissioner told the media that there definitely would be a wolf in Idaho in the Fall – the only question remaining is whether it would be a legal or illegal wolf hunt.

Trapping ban. In August, MSSA submitted official comment on the proposed initiative to ban trapping in Montana, saying that the initiative, even if approved by voters, would be unconstitutional because it would violate the right to “harvest wild fish and game animals” that MSSA and Montana voters had put into the Montana Constitution.

SAF and MSSA partner. In August, MSSA announced its strategic partnership with the Second Amendment Foundation to litigate the Montana Firearms Freedom Act.

Kennedy. In August, virulently anti-gun Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy went to his reward (whatever that may be). His passing was mourned by many, and also not mourned by many.

CNN and MFFA. In September, CNN finally aired its story about the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. A link to the YouTube video of that show is available from the FirearmsFreedomAct .com Website.

Wolf hunts on! Early in September federal Judge Molloy ruled that the Montana and Idaho wolf hunts would not be barred by the federal court.

GRPC. In late September I attended the annual Grass Roots Policy Conference held this year in St. Louis and sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation. At that conference I was presented with an award for Grass Roots Activist of the Year. There was a LOT of discussion at the GRPC about what is being done around the Nation to advance the cause of gun owners. I spoke to the gathering about the MFFA.

Olofson case. In late September, MSSA determined to submit an amicus brief in the Olofson case being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Olofson had an AR15 that would double (fire two rounds with one trigger pull) under certain conditions. He also loaned the rifle to an acquaintance. He was charged by the U.S. with illegal possession and illegal transfer of a machine gun. Our position with the SC was that mechanical devices all fail eventually, semi-auto rifles also occasionally fail to work properly, doubling is one common type of failure, and Olofson was allowed no safe harbor – no legal remedy to correct this problem. If Olofson had taken his AR immediately to a gunsmith for repair the first time it doubled, he could still have been charged with illegal possession and illegal transfer of a machine gun. Unfortunately, the SC declined to hear the Olofson case on appeal.

MFFA suit filed. On October 1st, MSSA and SAF filed the long-promised lawsuit in federal court in Missoula to validate the principles of the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. Quentin Rhoades of Missoula is the lead attorney on the MSSA legal team, buttressed by another attorney in Montana and four other attorneys in other states. October first is the date when Montana HB 246 became effective. MSSA had long planned to file this suit so the principles of the MFFA could be argued in a well-conceived, well-structured and well-planned lawsuit. We also wished to avoid having some Montanan charged criminally by the feds for making an MFFA item in theoretical violation of federal law. That could also have resulted in some dog of a legal case, with a bad set of facts, argued by an unprepared public defender, and having the MFFA declared void by a federal judge simply because of a bad case. Imagine an illegal immigrant who makes a zip gun and uses it to injure an innocent person, but whose public defender argues that the person cannot be charged with illegal manufacture of a firearm because of the MFFA. We do NOT want the validity of the MFFA decided in that sort of case.

Hardin. The business with the Hardin jail and the con artist who wanted to run it and the proposed Hardin police force was much in the news. MSSA asked the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association to explore why the elected sheriff was not involved in interdicting this fiasco.

More MFFA clones. More states continued to introduce clones of the Montana Firearms Freedom Act throughout the Fall and Winter. In November, MSSA began actively soliciting amicus parties to weigh in on our lawsuit.

MHRN fools. November also saw the Montana “Human Rights” Network taking potshots in op-eds at Sheriff Mack and characterizing him as a dangerous character. I had a letter published in the Helena Independent Record explaining that MHRN gets things wrong most of the time, that they are buffoons, and than nobody takes them seriously.

Prairie Dogs. In December the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service declined to list Prairie Dogs as an endangered species, despite the petition to do so from the enviro-wackos who claim that untold millions of PDs are on the verge of extinction. MSSA had submitted comment on the petition to list showing the fallacies of the arguments to list. We win, for now.

WCSM and MFFA. In mid-December the Weapons Collectors Society of Montana voted to submit an amicus brief in MSSA’s lawsuit over the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. The Montana Rifle and Pistol Association, the NRA State Association, won’t even think about it.

Front Sight. In late December my son Ty and I attended a four-day defensive handgun class at the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute in Nevada, to evaluate Front Sight and to pave the way to recommend Front Sight’s program and facilities. You figure out if what FS offers is affordable, but the staff, instruction and facilities are great.

That’s enough for one year.

MSSA wishes you a prosperous and successful new year.

*We also wish you’d join MSSA if you’re not already a member – see the MSSA Website.

We also encourage you to forward this email to all of your friends, so they can see how much MSSA does for them and what a great deal it is to be an MSSA member.

Best wishes,

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