Gun Group Frustrated with Supreme Court Privacy Opinion

Gun Group Frustrated with Supreme Court Privacy Opinion
Constitutional Rights for Sale?

Montana Shooting Sports Association
Montana Shooting Sports Association

MISSOULA, MT –-(AmmoLand.com)- The Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) was handed an unfavorable decision by the Montana Supreme Court in MSSA’s lawsuit claiming that it violates the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution for Montanans to be required to divulge a Social Security Number (SSN) in order to legally hunt and fish in Montana.

This MSSA lawsuit has been percolating through the courts since January of 2006. While MSSA argued that the requirement to provide an SSN to hunt and fish was unconstitutional, the State of Montana contended that it must collect SSNs to remain eligible under federal law for federal funds for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

The lawsuit was handled by attorney Quentin Rhoades of Missoula.

In an Opinion released on January 19th, the Supreme Court sided with the State, holding that the SSN requirement to hunt and fish does not violate the constitutional right to privacy because the plaintiffs’ expectation that their SSNs be kept private is, as the Court put it, “unreasonable.” The Court held that SSNs are a government-issued identifier, not the personal property of the citizen to whom an SSN attaches, and that because the federal government issued the identifier, it is not reasonable to expect that it should be kept private from other government agencies, like the Montana DFWP. The court was further persuaded by the State’s argument that the federal money made available because of SSN collection was too important to risk.

MSSA President Gary Marbut commented, “While members of the Court talk a good game about constitutional rights, what they’ve said in this decision is that the constitutional rights that the people have reserved to themselves from government interference may be sold to a high bidder by state government if the price is right and the court-determined impact is low. We had hoped for relief for the people of Montana from the judicial branch. But, it appears that the judiciary is simply another governmental entity willing to support the legislative branch which passed the SSN requirement, and the executive branch which lobbied hard for the Legislature to pass the law.”

Continuing, Marbut said, “It will be interesting now to see what other constitutional rights will be sold to the high bidder, and how soon that will happen. How much federal money will the state get for tolerable infringement on freedom of the press, freedom of speech, or the right to bear arms? Certainly in this time of economic difficulty the state will be desperate for additional sources of revenue. Watch for other constitutional rights on Ebay as cash-strapped state agencies scratch for funding.”

MSSA was a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Individual named plaintiffs were Gary Marbut of Missoula, Robert Clark of Ryegate, and Carol Latta of Whitehall. Clark, a former Montana Highway Patrol officer and former legislator, quit buying hunting and fishing licenses when an SSN became required for that purchase. Latta suffered identity theft and tens of thousands of dollars of expense because her SSN was stolen. Marbut objected to surrendering his right to privacy in order to exercise his right to hunt.

The only remaining alternative for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit will be to ask the Legislature to respect the right to privacy by repealing the state law requiring SSNs to hunt and fish.

However, it is predicted that the Department of Public Health and Human Services will use taxpayer funds to fiercely lobby the Legislature in opposition any such proposal.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
https://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
https://www.mtpublish.com

About Montana Shooting Sports Association:
MSSA is the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners. SAF is a national organization headquartered in Bellevue, WA that works nationally to advance the interests of gun owners. Visit: www.mtssa.org