U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- Although voters in November’s election had a refreshing break from initiatives to impose new gun-control laws, there was a pro-gun ballot measure this fall in Big Sky Country.
LR 130, a ballot measure to limit local government authority to regulate firearms, was supported by the NRA and approved by Montana’s voters. Voters had to contend with a barrage of misinformation along with the typical outsized spending by Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety to defeat the measure.
The path to this vote started when the City of Missoula enacted a 2016 ordinance to criminalize private firearm sales, gifts, loans, and other “transfers” unless the parties processed the transaction through a licensed firearm dealer and had a NICS check done. Like almost every other state, Montana has firearm preemption laws that prohibit local governments from regulating firearms as they please. The Montana Attorney General concluded that state preemption statutes prohibited Missoula from enforcing its ordinance. The city responded with litigation against the Attorney General, seeking a declaration that its ordinance was lawful. A year ago, the state’s highest court ruled 5-0 in favor of the Attorney General, finding that the ordinance violated the preemption laws.
State lawmakers then passed HB 325, an amendment to the preemption laws that would confine local governments’ authority to regulate firearms to firearms carried by unlicensed persons in publicly-owned buildings controlled by that locality. Bloomberg’s Everytown/ Moms Demand Action opposed the legislation and called on Governor Bullock to veto HB 325. Governor Steve Bullock (D) did veto HB 325, which triggered the placement of an identical measure, HB 357, on the ballot as LR-130, a legislatively referred statute (Montana’s constitution and statute law protect such measures from a governor’s veto).
Opponents of LR-130 used deceptive mailers that painted the measure as “an attempt by lobbyists and out-of-touch politicians to take away our freedom;” elsewhere, they referenced the “need to protect our Second Amendment rights” and claimed LR-130 was “unconstitutional.” Ignoring the 2019 court ruling invalidating Missoula’s ordinance, opponents alleged that local government “decisions” on firearms had not been challenged by proponents “because they know they’d lose.” Besides these desperate assertions, Everytown and its gun-control allies spent 27 times the amount spent by supporters of the measure in the lead-up to the election.
Voters were not deceived.
Montana’s voters not only supported LR-130, but they also made it clear that they’d had enough of Steve Bullock and his side-winding ways on the Second Amendment. After failing in his bid to be the Democrat nominee in the 2020 presidential race, Bullock had opted to run for the U.S. Senate, facing off against incumbent Steve Daines (R). Unlike the anti-gun positions he espoused as governor and presidential candidate, senatorial candidate Bullock found it expedient to profess his support for “gun rights,” with a fake hunters’ group even advertising that he was “strong on guns.”
Although Bullock did well in Missoula County, the flip-flopper flopped with Montanans overall, who preferred his opponent by a decisive ten percent margin.
For billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the defeat on LR-130 is likely another indication that, regardless of the huge funding disparities between real grassroots organizations and the anti-gun advocacy groups bankrolled by his millions, everyday Americans feel their freedom is not for sale.
About NRA-ILA:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
IN Arizona Republicans have once a gain learned a hard lesson. Call out the sources of money and support for Trojan Horse candidates and do so early, in very specific terms and do not accept invites to debates where the left gets to determine the quesitons and avoid the sources of money and the hot button issues. The gang of country club republicans advising McSally walked like sheep tot he slaughter in to a firestorm of money from outside leftists and simply leaned on the ropes and took the beating. Consultants are the downfall of many Republican candidates. Being cowboy… Read more »
nrringlee: “Consultants are the downfall of many Republican candidates.”
Yes, especially on 2nd Amendment issues. The consultants take the 2nd Amendment vote for granted and urge their clients to “compromise” to get the white suburban woman vote. I mean, what is the alternative for the “2nd Amendment” people – vote for the Democrat? If only we had a national organization to represent us and let these candidates know ahead of time that strategy will not work because they will lose the 2nd Amendment vote and those suburban white women aren’t going to vote for them anyhow.
It seems here in Arizona we can’t escape electing and maintaining worthless self-serving RINO Republican Senators (McCain and Flake) or out-and-out Democrat scum (Sinema – Lesbo whore and Kelly – wife abuser, crook) in the elections for Senate. Poor Arizona, so far from God, so close to California.
I encourage the good people of Arizona to provide information to their neighbors/family/friends and to write their U.S. and state legislators. Also, write the people holding officer positions in the Arizona Republican Party.
Become a Republican Party delegate. It’s not hard.
You cannot rely on the NRA.
You Arizona 2A supporters need to get together and try to convince Jeff Knox to run. If that would happen you’d have the best 2A supporter in the nation.
Yes indeed a red wave swept over Montana and protected our second amendment rights her in Big Sky country. The liberals in Missoula can’t enact a bunch of worthless ordinances like they tried to do . Thank you to all who voted for this , it shows common sense among Montanans and that we do not buy Bloombergs narrative about gun safety . A gun is only as safe as the person controlling it and a bunch of words on paper won’t change that .