Yes. Yes you can.

This question is interesting because of the amount of misinformation rampant on the topic. I have been assured by multiple people, including law enforcement officers, lawyers, bartenders, and even Montana firearms instructors, that it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon in a bar in a place where more than 50% of its revenue comes from the sale of alcoholic drinks consumed on premise.

They’re all wrong. That may have been the law in the past. It may have been the law in whatever state that person came from before moving to Montana. But it is not current law in Montana. Let’s take a look at MCA 45-8-356:

45-8-356. Where concealed weapon may be carried — exceptions. A person with a current and valid permit issued pursuant to 45-8-321 or 45-8-312 or recognized pursuant to 45-8-329 may not be prohibited or restricted from exercising that permit anywhere in the state, except:

(1) in a correctional, detention, or treatment facility operated by or contracted with the department of corrections or a secure treatment facility operated by the department of public health and human services;

(2) in a detention facility or secure area of a law enforcement facility owned and operated by a city or county;

(3) at or beyond a security screening checkpoint regulated by the transportation security administration in a publicly owned, commercial airport;

(4) in a building owned and occupied by the United States;

(5) on a military reservation owned and managed by the United States;

(6) on private property where the owner of the property or the person who possesses or is in control of the property, including a tenant or lessee of the property, expressly prohibits firearms;

(7) within a courtroom or an area of a courthouse in use by court personnel pursuant to an order of a justice of the peace or judge; or

(8) in a school building as determined by a school board pursuant to 45-8-361.

If you read that closely, you might be tempted to say “Aha! This doesn’t apply to carry without a permit!” You’d be wrong there as well, because MCA 45-8-351 provides the only exceptions where unpermitted (aka “Constitutional”) carry can be regulated (emphasis added):

45-8-351. Restriction on local government regulation of firearms. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a county, city, town, consolidated local government, or other local government unit may not prohibit, register, tax, license, or regulate the purchase, sale or other transfer (including delay in purchase, sale, or other transfer), ownership, possession, transportation, use, or unconcealed carrying of any weapon, including a rifle, shotgun, handgun, or concealed handgun.

(2) (a) For public safety purposes, a city or town may regulate the discharge of rifles, shotguns, and handguns. A county, city, town, consolidated local government, or other local government unit has power to prevent and suppress the carrying of unpermitted concealed weapons or the carrying of unconcealed weapons to a publicly owned and occupied building under its jurisdiction.

(b) Nothing contained in this section allows any government to prohibit the legitimate display of firearms at shows or other public occasions by collectors and others or to prohibit the legitimate transportation of firearms through any jurisdiction, whether in airports or otherwise.

There is no state law restricting where concealed weapons may be carried other than MCA 45-8-356, and sub-divisions of the state are not permitted to restrict unpermitted carry other than at a “publicly owned and occupied building under its jurisdiction.” Therefore, no government entity has the ability to limit concealed carry in a bar. This limitation simply does not exist in Montana.

“But what if the bar has a sign posted that says no weapons?” In that case, section (6) of MCA 45-8-356 would come into play. But that’s not specific to a bar — it applies to any privately owned property. Moreover, while any private business, including a bar, could prohibit concealed firearms on its premises, violation of such private prohibition does not carry criminal penalties in Montana. At most, you could be asked to leave, and if you refuse to leave, then the business could call the police to have you arrested for trespassing — but you wouldn’t face separate criminal charges for carrying in a prohibited location simply for not obeying a sign at a private establishment. This is different than the law in many other states. But apart from all that, my philosophy with respect to businesses that post “no guns” signs is, “Don’t give businesses displaying the unarmed victim zone sign any support.”

“You can’t carry if you’re drinking, and thus you can’t carry in a bar.” Obviously, you can carry in a bar if you are not drinking, so the idea that carry in bars is therefore prohibited is false. But more importantly, the relevant Montana statute says nothing of the sort. What MCA 45-8-327 addresses is carrying under the influence:

45-8-327. Carrying concealed weapon while under influence. A person commits the offense of carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence if the person purposely or knowingly carries a concealed weapon while under the influence of an intoxicating substance. It is not a defense that the person had a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon. A person convicted of the offense shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months or be fined an amount not to exceed $500, or both.

There is no place where “under the influence” is defined for the purposes of MCA 45-8-327. We are therefore left to look elsewhere in the statues for a definition, and the only place that phrase is defined is MCA 68-1-1002, which defines under the influence of alcohol for the general public as 0.08. I read this to mean that, if you’ve had too much to drink to legally drive a car, you’ve had too much to carry. That’s not limited to just bars, you can’t carry concealed anywhere if you’re legally under the influence. Importantly, “under the influence” in MCA 45-8-327 refers to any intoxicating substance, not merely alcohol. Presumably that includes marijuana and other drugs, and possibly even prescription or over-the-counter medications that may have an “intoxicating” effect (e.g., “don’t drive or operate heavy machinery” warnings on the packaging).

Please note that none of this is to say that carrying in bars is a good thing. My advice would be to not hang around in bars. If you do go to bars, being armed means you have to be especially vigilant to avoid confrontation, regardless of whether you decide to have a drink. Don’t find yourself in a bar fight. If you’re grappling with someone while armed, it just became a deadly force encounter because they could grab your weapon.

On the other hand, if you want to go to a pub for a burger and mind your own business, there’s no reason you have to leave your Second Amendment rights at the door.

Once again, I am not a lawyer and I don’t even play one on TV. And if you want good, current legal advice on this or any other Montana gun law issue, talk to a Montana lawyer who actually practices firearms law. After all, you wouldn’t ask your optometrist to treat your heart condition, would you?

Here’s a song about people who hang around in bars: