Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Montana legislators want to pack guns- right or wrong?

Law would allow lawmakers to carry concealed guns into Capitol



HELENA � As state lawmakers on Monday considered hiring a police officer to beef up Capitol security after a congresswoman was shot in Arizona, a Montana senator has a bill to allow legislators with concealed gun permits to bring their weapons into the statehouse for protection.

At least 17 state legislators appear to have active concealed weapon permits, according to a Gazette State Bureau search of a state Justice Department database.

Senate President Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo, told reporters that legislative leaders met Monday morning and discussed the possibility of adding a police officer to their security. They made no decision and didn't discuss the possibility of adding body scanners or metal detectors, he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, on Dec. 30 asked a bill to be drafted to authorize legislators with a concealed weapon permit to carry guns into the Capitol. He would extend the same right to Capitol security guards with permits.

Jackson, who got his permit in 2009, said he put in the bill to give lawmakers the ability to protect themselves in the case of an attack.

�I think what happened (in Arizona) is exactly what could happen right here,� Jackson said.

He said he opposes the installation of metal detectors or body scanners in the Capitol, but thinks allowing those with concealed weapon permits to bring their guns into the building would be a deterrent to attacks.

Utah allows legislators to carry concealed weapons if they have permits, Jackson said, and it prevented a potential incident there in recent years.

�Six senators carry weapons,� he said.

�They had a person who forced his way past the security doors. He swung open the two double doors and was coming down the aisle. He looked up, and six guns were pointing at him. He turned around and ran right into a security guard.�

Jackson said he thinks legislators with permits need the right to carry guns in the Montana Capitol because of threats they receive.

The lawmaker said he drew a number of threats for a bill to allow the state to revoke medical marijuana cards and for opposing a measure that would have allowed school curriculums to include children's books that promote homosexual families.

He is still working on his concealed weapon permit bill this session.

Under the first draft of the bill, any legislators or Capitol security guards with concealed weapon permits could bring their weapons into the Capitol.

The Kalispell lawmaker said he didn't think many lawmakers now have permits.

Jackson said he received hands-on weapon training in 2009 from Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, and had to read several books.

He said he thinks those seeking concealed weapon permits under his bill should receive similar training.

These permits are issued by county sheriffs, he said, and applicants must fill out a form and provide character references.

It's a perfect response to buffer the animated and irrational solutions proposed by the loopy left.

Well Chuckie wannabe, What would Walker say ?

Of course they should....you forgotten 9/11 already ?

Were all CC licensed people allowed to carry, there would have been no 9/11, just a bunch of dead ragheads.

"an armed society is a polite society."

BTW did you know Chuckie was a USAF puke Airpoliceman ? On the AFOQT, the only people with lower scores than APs are cooks.

As long as the voting public can too...

i say if they can legally carry, they should if they want to.

Only if everybody else can.

when do these phumducks get it??? the person is the problem...not the tool...

and no stupid permit required...

My thoughts exactly, but it is a step in the right direction.

When are people going to realize that the only person that can truly protect you, is you.

And what part of "shall not be infringed" don't they understand.

What's funny is most politicos who want to pack heat for their protection...probably don't want their subjects doing the same...(not talking MT politicos specifically)

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

I don't know the author, but it is dead on. Outlaw flakes like the perp with the Glock in AZ, who was a known nut case.

Wayne

[/quote]

What's funny is most politicos who want to pack heat for their protection...probably don't want their subjects doing the same...(not talking MT politicos specifically) [/quote]

I think that might be what's known as pride in stupidity.

I think they should be issued a carry weapon and ammunition to train with. Why in hell anyone in a public position WOULD NOT want the means to protect themselves and those around them I'll never understand. It's very easy to imagine (conscious dream) a situation where having 2 or 3 good guys returning fire on the bad guy would be good. Just like airliner pilots. If someone in the Arizona crowd had opend fire on skinhead before he emptied that first mag there may have been friendly fire casualties. But I'm betting there wouldn't have been as many intentionally killed by him if he was put down early. Shootem

Sounds fine to me. The more honest (assumption :-) folks carrying the better.

+1

I'm all in favor of legislators being able to carry in the state house......as long as any other citizen who goes there is also allowed to carry.

Right on.....

Permit.
License to do that which without said license would be illegal.

ie (aka) Permission.
Same root word. Same meaning. Same, same, same. It's like a hall pass from your high school teacher to go potty.

Follow me so far? Okay. Let's see here what we got. Law makers of a State (a State, mind you, with a Constitution which includes restatement of the Second Amendment... which is a restatement of a BIRTH RIGHT that long preceded the very concept of governments in the first place...) legislating unto themselves permission to do something that without permitting themselves said permission would be illegal. Of course this is if, AND ONLY IF, they have already sought and acquired a permission slip known as a 'Concealed Carry Permit'.

Have I got that right?
They're giving themselves the nod to do something, right? Something which has already been granted them by Lawmakers, right? Something that has already been CLEARLY stated in LAW as their RIGHT, right?

Is this even legal?

How long ago was it that this permission they seek to grant themselves was granted to them in what is commonly known as the Supreme Law of the Land? How many fricken lawyers does it take to figure this out and get it right.... at long last? How many times must this permission be sought and granted? At the risk of sounding like Gus, who's in charge here, anyway? Anybody know for sure?

Can we vote on it?
What of those who vote against it? Are they barred a right while those who vote in favor are granted the permission?
Do we need some lawyer to sort this out? Or have they already sufficiently convoluted the thing?

Only time will tell, right?

Maybe the NRA can fix it. Have they got any lawyers on retainer? Do they have any specific goals?

I'm shaking my head over here. Will someone please help me understand, beyond the customary obfuscation? Please help me in my quest - my persuit - of life, liberty and happiness.

Someone PLEASE pass a law already, will ya?
Let's get this settled.
We need to get this settled.
Hire some lawyers... STAT!

TexasRick,
The Texas state capitol building has an express line for citizens with concealed carry licenses. You don't even have to go through the security check. You just run your permit through a swipe card machine and walk right in.

over 80% of Montana homes have guns, concealed carry laws in Montana currently only matter inside city limits, outside a town and concealed carry is legal without a permit.....wouldnt think it would take much of a step for Montana to extend that to in city limits, not like getting a CC permit is hard in Montana, fill out a form, hand it to your country sheriff and they usually rubber stamp it and the state sends you the permit, atleast on the east end of the state.....