Currently pending consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee, are House Bills 325 and 357. If enacted, both bills would strengthen Montana’s existing state preemption laws and limit the ability of local municipalities to pass a patchwork of conflicting laws throughout the state. In addition, HB 357 would put the issue on the 2020 General Election ballot.
Local municipalities in Montana have stretched the state’s preemption statutes to their own ends by passing anti-gun laws ranging from criminalizing private transfers to banning where people can lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense. These types of unnecessary anti-gun ordinances impose further burdens on law-abiding gun owners in Montana by creating different laws relating to firearms purchase and possession from one municipality to another, putting gun owners at risk of unknowingly violating a law. House Bill 325 and House Bill 357 seek to strengthen Montana’s current preemption laws by further restricting the ability of local municipalities to enact a complex patchwork of gun laws throughout the state.
Stay-tuned to NRA-ILA Alerts for updates and information on this and other Second Amendment issues in Montana.