Oh the Irony, MT Democrat Relies on Gun Law He Vote Down to Get Out of Trouble

Bob Bergren, a former state lawmaker from Havre, is charged with threatening a tenant as she was moving out of a rental property.
Bob Bergren, a former state lawmaker from Havre, is charged with threatening a tenant as she was moving out of a rental property.
Montana Shooting Sports Association
Montana Shooting Sports Association

Montana – -(Ammoland.com)- According to Montana’s Great Falls Tribune, (former) Rep. Bob Bergren (D-Havre) has been arrested for allegedly threatening a tenant with a firearm.

I am careful to say “allegedly” both because Bergren is innocent until proven guilty and because I’ve seen such sketchy media reports convey facts incorrectly.

What is curious is this: In 2009, MSSA got its omnibus self defense bill (HB 228) passed, which included a section declaring that (proper) defensive display of a firearm is not a crime (better to make a bad guy go away with a firearm display than for someone to get shot).

45-3-111. Openly carrying weapon — display — exemption. (1) Any person who is not otherwise prohibited from doing so by federal or state law may openly carry a weapon and may communicate to another person the fact that the person has a weapon. (2) If a person reasonably believes that the person or another person is threatened with bodily harm, the person may warn or threaten the use of force, including deadly force, against the aggressor, including drawing or presenting a weapon. (3) This section does not limit the authority of the board of regents or other postsecondary institutions to regulate the carrying of weapons, as defined in 45-8-361(5)(b), on their campuses.

 

In that session, Bob Bergren was Speaker of the House and voted AGAINST HB 228 on both Second Reading and Third Reading.

Now, it appears as if Bergren is relying on the defensive display protection of HB 228 to justify the conduct that landed him in jail, according to the Great Falls Tribune.

I carefully offer no opinion about Bergren’s alleged conduct. I trust that the law, as written, will prevail, and that the wheels of justice will work properly.

But, it will be ironic if Bergren must rely on a law he opposed in the Legislature in order to avoid prison, and it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out. Watching this …

Best wishes,

 

About Montana Shooting Sports Association:

Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) is the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners. Visit: www.mtssa.org

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stan

Can’t he rely on his God-queen’s defense of having no intention to do what he has done?

David A. Tiangco

He’s probably too dense to see the irony of his situation, even after a second reading or a third reading.

Big Lou

If she’s in the process of moving out why does he needs to be standing there at the mailbox with a loaded shotgun yelling at her? it seems to me like she’s the one being threatened not him. He should have left and let her finish moving out if there was any property damage he could have sued her in court 4 cost. Lock his ass up.

GomeznSA

Oh dear, these type of incidents reinforce the saying that if it weren’t for low (or in this case double) standards democrats would have no standards at all.
I’ll defer to the stance of the author, we don’t know all of the details so can’t really determine if he was ‘justified’ in his action. But I suspect there is a lot more to the entire tale than we have seen……………regardless, relying on a law he was against is the epitome of hypocrisy.

Colonialgirl

It sounds like there was NO CREDIBLE THREAT that would JUSTIFY his HOLDING a LOADED SHOTGUN while YELLING at the tenant that was VACATING the property and threatening her.
LOCK his sorry rear end up; Maybe Obama will “pardon Him” along with the hundreds of other criminals he has pardoned and turned loose on the American people.

marc disabled vet

Keep him in jail till the Supreme Court ,
can or will hear his case ! I think that would ,
serve him right ! Justice moves in mysterious ways .

JeffH

From ABC/FOX news Montana. – A former state lawmaker from Havre is charged with threatening a tenant as she was moving out of a rental property. 52 year old Bob Bergen was charged Monday with assault with a weapon. Police reports say that Bergen had been harassing the tenant, including standing at her mailbox and yelling at her while holding a shotgun. Bergen admits to being at the residence with a gun but said he did not aim it at the tenant. Officers say they found a round in the chamber of the gun. Bergen told the Havre Daily News… Read more »

Janek

The tenant was a female? LOL

Gene Ralno

Har-har. He probably didn’t want to admit his butt got kicked by a girl. It adds credibility to armed women. And, if he’s found to have brandished in self defense, it’s a bit more evidence that firearms are used more than a million times annually in self defense, most often without firing a shot.

gil

what comes around goes around. sooner or later theae hoplophobics will get bitten by their stupidity.