Judge Upholds Missoula Universal Background Check Regulation

By Tom Knighton

It seems that the city of Missoula, Montana wants to require universal background checks. Despite the burden this places on people wishing to exercise their Second Amendment rights, it seems that not everyone disagrees with this either.

For example, a judge has upheld the law.

A state judge on Thursday upheld Missoula’s 2016 gun ordinance, which requires background checks on all gun sales in city limits, even between private parties.

Judge Robert “Dusty” Deschamps’ ruling rejected an opinion from Montana Attorney General Tim Fox that said local governments don’t have the power to limit the sale and transfer of firearms.

State law, Deschamps wrote, says “Missoula’s governing authority must be ‘liberally construed’ with ‘every reasonable doubt as to the existence of a local government power or authority … resolved in favor of the existence of that power or authority.”’

“By invalidating the City of Missoula’s Ordinance, the Attorney General’s opinion deprives Missoula of its own authority,” Deschamps wrote.

Missoula, he concluded, is authorized by state law to prevent felons from possessing firearms and can therefore require background checks within city limits.

Earlier this year, the city challenged Fox’s decision to void the background check ordinance, which was passed in 2016 but …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment *

Name *

Email *

Website

Δ

← The Gun Page home