A constitutional amendment is always a heavy lift in Montana. It takes 100 votes between the House and the Senate to get the required 2/3 majority simply to get the proposed amendment on the ballot for popular vote at the next general election.

The current status of HB 551, the bill that would “Implement constitutional carry into the Montana Constitution,” is that it passed the House 65-33. It didn’t get a single Democrat vote. But 3 Republicans also voted against it:

John Fitzpatrick (Anaconda) – https://apps.montanafreepress.org/capitol-tracker-2023/lawmakers/John-Fitzpatrick/

Wayne Rusk (Corvallis) – https://apps.montanafreepress.org/capitol-tracker-2023/lawmakers/Wayne-Rusk/

Kenneth Walsh (Twin Bridges) – https://apps.montanafreepress.org/capitol-tracker-2023/lawmakers/Kenneth-Walsh/

Fitzpatrick and Rusk are first timers in the MT legislature. Walsh is in his second term. If you live in those districts you should ask your representative why they voted against your constitutional rights. And vote against them in the next primary. Anaconda, Corvallis, and Twin Bridges deserve much better.

HB 551 will now need 35 votes in the Senate to stay alive. The Republicans hold the Senate 34-16, so in order to pass it’s going to require 100% support from the Republicans and to peel off a Democrat Senator. This would have been a much easier task in the Senate without those three turncoat representatives. Now is the time to contact your state senator and urge them to vote YES for HB 551.

HB 551 aims to remove the final vestiges of racism left over from Montana’s first constitution. Read about the racist roots of Montana’s gun control here.