Montana Bill: Exemption from All Federal Gun Laws!

[kevin9]

So Maybe Montana is the Place to Move to

Montana 2009 House Bill 246:

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 ... 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.

Wouldn't do us MA serfs much good, but maybe there is something here for the freer NE states like NH, ME or VT.

Found via Two-Four.

 

[M1911]

Montana? Too cold in the winter. Too hot in the summer. Western MT sure is pretty, though.

 

[biff44]

Isn't that where the dental floss bushes grow?

 

[sig2009]

Montana is telling the feds and the govt of this country to go suck an egg. How refreshing!!!

 

[Zappa]

Isn't that where the dental floss bushes grow?

YES !

But you need Zircon Encrusted Tweezers to harvest it.

 

[SKS Ray]

There was a guy that was in a video game clan I used to play in a few years ago that moved to Montana to open up a fishing and hunting guide service. He raved about it and claimed it was the last free place in America.

 

[doobie]

Wow, that would be awesome if that passes. It would be double awesome because it sounds like machine guns and silencers would be legal and not dependent on federal permission/tax stamps, etc.

Of course would also be interesting to see how the feddies fight it.

EDIT: dang, exceptions: (4) a firearm that discharges two or more projectiles with one activation of the trigger or other firing device.

 

[Asaltweapon]

Unless your in the 1% crowd. How are you going to make a living?

Maine and NH are not too bad but for how long is anyone's guess.

 

[doobie]

Here's the one I'd like to see in NH:

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "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 New Hampshire; PROVIDING FOR THE DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE."



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF New Hampshire:



NEW SECTION. Section 1. Short title. [Sections 1 through 7] may be cited as the "New Hampshire Firearms Freedom Act".



NEW SECTION. Section 2. Legislative declarations of authority. The legislature declares that the authority for [sections 1 through 7] 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 New Hampshire certain powers as they were understood at the time that New Hampshire was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those powers is a matter of contract between the state and people of New Hampshire and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire certain rights as they were understood at the time that New Hampshire was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract between the state and people of New Hampshire and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire was admitted to statehood in 1889, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of contract between the state and people of New Hampshire and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by New Hampshire and the United States in 1889.

(5) Article II, section 12, of the New Hampshire constitution clearly secures to New Hampshire citizens, and prohibits government interference with, the right of individual New Hampshire citizens to keep and bear arms. This constitutional protection is unchanged from the 1889 New Hampshire constitution, which was approved by congress and the people of New Hampshire, and the right exists as it was understood at the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by New Hampshire and the United States in 1889.



NEW SECTION. Section 3. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 7], the following definitions apply:

(1) "Borders of New Hampshire" means the boundaries of New Hampshire described in [FILL IN THE BLANK].

(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.



NEW SECTION. Section 4. Prohibitions. A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in New Hampshire and that remains within the borders of New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire from those materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire.



NEW SECTION. 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


NEW SECTION. Section 6. Marketing of firearms. A firearm manufactured or sold in New Hampshire under [sections 1 through 7] must have the words "Made in New Hampshire" clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.



NEW SECTION. Section 7. Duties of the attorney general. (1) A New Hampshire citizen whom the government of the United States attempts to prosecute, under the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, for violation of a federal law concerning the manufacture, sale, transfer, or possession of a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained within New Hampshire must be defended in full by the New Hampshire attorney general.

(2) Upon written notification to the New Hampshire attorney general by a New Hampshire citizen of intent to manufacture a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition to which [sections 1 through 7] apply, the attorney general shall seek a declaratory judgment from the federal district court for the district of New Hampshire that [sections 1 through 7] are consistent with the United States constitution.



NEW SECTION. Section 8. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 7] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 30, and the provisions of Title 30 apply to [sections 1 through 7].



NEW SECTION. Section 9. Applicability. [This act] applies to firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition that are manufactured, as defined in [section 3], and retained in New Hampshire after October 1, 2009.

 

[GSG]

Montana is telling the feds and the govt of this country to go suck an egg. How refreshing!!!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1973142/posts

DC v. Heller - Montana prepares to secede

Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:35:11 PM by djf

Secy of State Brad Johnson of Montana delivered a letter to the Washington Times about possible outcomes of the Heller decision.

Second Amendment an individual right

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide D.C. v. Heller, the first case in more than 60 years in which the court will confront the meaning of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Although Heller is about the constitutionality of the D.C. handgun ban, the court's decision will have an impact far beyond the District ("Promises breached," Op-Ed, Thursday).

The court must decide in Heller whether the Second Amendment secures a right for individuals to keep and bear arms or merely grants states the power to arm their militias, the National Guard. This latter view is called the "collective rights" theory.

A collective rights decision by the court would violate the contract by which Montana entered into statehood, called the Compact With the United States and archived at Article I of the Montana Constitution. When Montana and the United States entered into this bilateral contract in 1889, the U.S. approved the right to bear arms in the Montana Constitution, guaranteeing the right of "any person" to bear arms, clearly an individual right.

There was no assertion in 1889 that the Second Amendment was susceptible to a collective rights interpretation, and the parties to the contract understood the Second Amendment to be consistent with the declared Montana constitutional right of "any person" to bear arms.

As a bedrock principle of law, a contract must be honored so as to give effect to the intent of the contracting parties. A collective rights decision by the court in Heller would invoke an era of unilaterally revisable contracts by violating the statehood contract between the United States and Montana, and many other states.

Numerous Montana lawmakers have concurred in a resolution raising this contract-violation issue. It's posted at progunleaders.org. The United States would do well to keep its contractual promise to the states that the Second Amendment secures an individual right now as it did upon execution of the statehood contract.

Now if only the 33 states in reciprocity with Florida would take the same stance.

 

[Twigg]

Two reasons why I moved to NH

Yes, really - at my wife's urging too I will add.

State Constitution - Bill of Rights;

[Art.] 2-a. [The Bearing of Arms.] All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state.

[Art.] 10. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

I've heard NH retains the right to seceed as well but its late, I gotta get up at 4:00 AM for work. I'll find it eventually.

There is an annual secessionist rally in NH, I suspect they'll be a bit buiser this year.

 

[KMaurer]

Back when there were still a few people alive who had had the opportunity to meet and talk with those who had been around at the founding of the Republic, it was generally accepted that the Union was truly a voluntary association of free and independent States, each and every one of which retained the absolute right to remove itself from that Union whenever they believed that they would be better off by doing so. Many sources explicitly stated so; there is none of which I'm aware that dissented. Indeed, to maintain that there was no such right would be to reject the basic principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

... That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. ...

At different times, quite a few states threatened or seriously considered secession over various issues with which they strongly dissented with the position of the Federal government, e.g., tariff policies, the Fugitive Slave Law. It was precisely this threat than imposed a certain restraint on the actions of the Federal government prior to the election of BHO's idol. Unfortunately, I doubt that any state that made that decision today would fare much better than those that did so a century and a half ago.

Ken

 

[Twigg]

<snip>I doubt that any state that made that decision today would fare much better than those that did so a century and a half ago.

Ken

Very true, but its the message which counts.

Disclaimer: MrTwigg does not condone the action of a revolutoin or seccession.

 

[MarkM]

Unless your in the 1% crowd. How are you going to make a living?

I would start as a cowboy then work up to owning my own bison ranch of course

 

[biff44]

YES !

But you need Zircon Encrusted Tweezers to harvest it.

Precisely, and ride like a cowboy into the dawn to Montana

 

[Cross-X]

If truly interested, drop K-Dub a PM. She lives in Montana, moving there about a year ago from MA.

 

[calsdad]

Montana is telling the feds and the govt of this country to go suck an egg. How refreshing!!!

Let's hope the bill passes. I do remember seeing some video a while back of the Montana governor basically saying what you said: tell the Feds to go suck an egg (or worse).

Quite refreshing.

If only a few more states would adopt that attitude there might be hope for this country yet.

 

[try#3]

If it's of any use, it will surprise me. Remember Stewart? The homegrown pot rationale?

 

[SemiAutoSam]

I hope this is the start of a Trend.

I like the idea of secession from the US.

And this looks to me is what could happen if this law is passed.

Texas should join them as Texas never Ceded their lands to the FED GOV.


http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/billhtml/HB0246.htm

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=345097

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

Quote:
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.

2009 Montana Legislature

Additional Bill Links PDF (with line numbers)

HOUSE BILL NO. 246

INTRODUCED BY J. BONIEK



A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "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; PROVIDING FOR THE DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE."



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



NEW SECTION. Section 1. Short title. [Sections 1 through 7] may be cited as the "Montana Firearms Freedom Act".



NEW SECTION. Section 2. Legislative declarations of authority. The legislature declares that the authority for [sections 1 through 7] 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.



NEW SECTION. Section 3. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 7], 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.



NEW SECTION. 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.



NEW SECTION. 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.



NEW SECTION. Section 6. Marketing of firearms. A firearm manufactured or sold in Montana under [sections 1 through 7] must have the words "Made in Montana" clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.



NEW SECTION. Section 7. Duties of the attorney general. (1) A Montana citizen whom the government of the United States attempts to prosecute, under the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, for violation of a federal law concerning the manufacture, sale, transfer, or possession of a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained within Montana must be defended in full by the Montana attorney general.

(2) Upon written notification to the Montana attorney general by a Montana citizen of intent to manufacture a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition to which [sections 1 through 7] apply, the attorney general shall seek a declaratory judgment from the federal district court for the district of Montana that [sections 1 through 7] are consistent with the United States constitution.



NEW SECTION. Section 8. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 7] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 30, and the provisions of Title 30 apply to [sections 1 through 7].



NEW SECTION. Section 9. 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 -




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latest Version of HB 246 (HB0246.01)
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Sponsor names are handwritten on introduced bills, hence do not appear on the bill until it is reprinted.

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Prepared by Montana Legislative Services
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[Pilgrim]

this is the one that I was referring to in the NH thread.

 

[DickWanner]

My father is from Montana and my parents are hoping to move out there this coming fall. The way things are looking I might just follow them out there

 

[SemiAutoSam]

If this gets passed I'm outta California and headed north.

Better buy your land quick all of the good pieces will go fast.

I'm looking in Kalispell near the lake.

My father is from Montana and my parents are hoping to move out there this coming fall. The way things are looking I might just follow them out there

 

[Bassturd]

The sad problem with this is that, even if they can do it, the government will try to find ways to squeeze the state financially in order to get them to fall in line.

It's the same tactic the fed gov takes with speed limits. Post speed limits above the fed gov sanctioned speeds and loose funding. Yee-fricken-haw.

 

[DickWanner]

If this gets passed I'm outta California and headed north.

Better buy your land quick all of the good pieces will go fast.

I'm looking in Kalispell near the lake.

My parents already have a house and plot in Laurel, my grandmother lives there right now. 5 acres, but it's very long and not that wide.

 

[MassMark]

My parents already have a house and plot in Laurel, my grandmother lives there right now. 5 acres, but it's very long and not that wide.

Can I pitch a tent?

 

[seanc]

are there jobs out there??

 

[jhblaze1]

are there jobs out there??

no

 

[DickWanner]

Can I pitch a tent?

Go for it, I'm alreay trying to convince my dad to set up a pistol/rifle range

 

[wahsben]

Group buy of some land in Montana! We will all head out there and work and live off the land.

 

[Arioch]

Did I miss it, or is there no protection for firearms that were not manufactured in Montana, or that had been previously owned by a U. S. citizen moving to Montana from a different state or commonwealth.