And that’s a good thing.

In a masterful political stroke, HB 551 went back to the Senate Judiciary Committee and was amended. It’s a good amendment — it clears up the problem that the Montana Constitution uses the word “or” instead of “and” in the right to keep and bear arms. Any reasonable person would interpret “or” broadly to mean our rights are for either and both keeping and bearing arms, but a liberal Montana Supreme Court might very well interpret the phrase narrowly as meaning an exclusive “or” — you can either keep arms OR you can bear arms, but not both.

On the third reading in the Senate, the bill passed 33-17 by picking up one of the Republican holdouts. That’s not enough to get over the 100 vote hurdle for a proposed constitutional amendment to get on the ballot for 2024. But since HB 551 has been amended, it now goes back to the House where three Republicans voted against it. In order to reach the 100 vote requirement, the bill will need to pick up 2 of the 3 Republicans that voted against it (and not lose any supporters). Those Republicans are:

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/

Why a Republican would vote against this bill in the first place defies explanation. Please contact them and respectfully let your opinion be known.

Why is this so important? Today, Montana has permitless carry. We no longer have a law that requires a permit to carry concealed (with very few, narrow exceptions). But our Constitution as currently written explicitly excludes a right to carry concealed.

     Section 12. Right to bear arms. The right of any person to keep or bear arms in defense of his own home, person, and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but nothing herein contained shall be held to permit the carrying of concealed weapons.

We are at the mercy of the legislature. Our permitless carry system could evaporate with a simple majority vote. It’s pretty easy to fall into complacency since currently Republicans have a super majority in the legislature and control the governor’s office. But political winds change. We could easily end up with another Bullock in the governorship and a close split in the legislature. It would take only a couple of squishy Republicans to watch our permitless carry disappear overnight. Our right to carry concealed should not be carved out of Montana’s constitution, which otherwise provides that Montanans’ right to keep and bear arms “shall not be called in question.” Carrying concealed must be recognized as a constitutional right for all Montanans, not just a privilege subject to the whim of whatever legislature is in place at the moment. HB 551 as amended would protect Montanans’ rights and ensure consistency with the US Constitution.