Montana Supreme Court Deals Gun Control Advocates A Legal Defeat

By Cam Edwards

Gun control groups hoping to pass more local gun control laws in Montana were dealt a setback by the state Supreme Court this week when their challenge to the language of a ballot referendum was rejected by the state’s high court.

An effort by several organizations to modify the language of the referendum to prohibit local municipalities to make their own gun registration laws was turned away on Tuesday by the Montana Supreme Court.

Missoula attorney Quentin Rhoades represented several legislators who opposed the change of language for the referendum.

“The Supreme Court denied the petition to change the Attorney General’s statement describing what the referendum would do if it were passed,” said Rhoades. “The court turned back the analysis that said the Attorney General should have referred to schools and their ability to regulate firearms in that ballot statement. The proponents said that schools needed to be included in that ballot statement.”

In essence, the issue in Montana dates back to 2016, when the city council in Missoula passed a local ordinance requiring background checks on all private sales in the city. While Montana does have a firearms preemption law that prevents municipalities from enacting their own local gun laws, …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms