Montana enacts firearm freedom bill

David Kopel on the Volokh Conspiracy reports:

Montana's staunchly pro-Second Amendment Governor, Democrat Brian Schweitzer, has signed Montana HB 246, the Montana Firearms Freedom Act. The bill declares that a firearm which is manufactured in Montana, and never leaves the State 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."

Sometimes, I wish I lived in Montana. This law should have... interesting... repercussions. Unlike Rick Perry's succession threat on behalf of Texas, a limited challenge such as this can possibly bear fruit without doing more damage than it prevents.

The problem is that the Supreme Court has already ruled on similar cases. While this attempt will likely get a lot of attention and probably generate a legal challenge, it's basically asking the Supreme Court to overrule itself. That's a difficult proposition. The potential wildcard is the effect of the Heller case, recognizing an individual right to own a firearm.

I don't really feel qualified to try to predict where this one is going. It's a tough question, and something I'll try to keep an eye on.

This entry was published Thu Apr 16 12:45:35 CDT 2009 by TriggerFinger and last updated 2009-04-16 12:45:35.0. [Tweet]

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