Montana Shooting Sports Association Is At A Crossroads

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Montana Shooting Sports Association is at a crossroads.

Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) needs to either grow substantially or begin spooling down. I just had my 79th birthday and will not be able to carry the MSSA load much longer. To set MSSA up to carry on will require money and members, lots of both.

Since MSSA was founded to be the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners in 1990, we have been highly successful.

We have now enacted 73 pro-gun and pro-hunting bills, way more than any other entity in the U.S. (or the World). MSSA has done a lot for Montana gun owners. The Montana Shooting Sports Association has proven its worth.

Yet only a tiny fraction of Montana gun owners are MSSA members. Too many are happy to ride the good-gun-laws wagon that MSSA has built, but relatively few have been willing to get off that wagon and help pull the wagon by joining or donating to MSSA.

Why should you pitch in? Here’s why.

If you operate or are a member of a shooting range: MSSA brought you the Shooting Range Protection Act, to prevent closures because of noise complaints, allegations of lead pollution, or planning and zoning rules. MSSA brought you the Shooting Range Development Program, for matching grants for range improvement. Since inception, the SRDP has caused about $25 million in range improvements across Montana, probably including your range. MSSA allowed the use of easements to secure a safety zone around a range, which was much less expensive than an outright land purchase. MSSA has successfully championed the use of public lands for ranges.

Your range should be making hefty annual donations to Montana Shooting Sports Association in the form of Sponsor memberships, or supporting MSSA on an ongoing basis with a fixed share of the dues each range member pays. Make that happen with your local range.

If you are a shooting club that puts on matches, During the “militia” craze of the 1990s, there was a law passed to prohibit “paramilitary training.” MSSA got an exception for firearms safety training and shooting matches. Without that, your shooting matches would be illegal. MSSA exempted your matches, ranges, and instructors from liability except for gross negligence. Without that legal infrastructure, liability insurance covering your matches would cost multiples of what it does.

A share of the match fees for every match held should be going to MSSA, and groups holding matches should be holding matches specifically as MSSA fundraisers, to keep MSSA going. Make that happen.

If you are a hunter, It was MSSA that spearheaded putting the right to hunt, fish, and trap into the Montana Constitution. That took a decade of MSSA effort, but we got it done. MSSA wrote the current law establishing the third week of September as Montana’s official week to celebrate out heritage of hunting game animals. If you are a hunter, you really ought to be an MSSA member.

If you are primarily interested in self-defense, Montana gave MSSA shall-issue permits in 1991 and permitless carry in 2021. MSSA got rid of a long list of “prohibited places” in law where guns were not allowed. MSSA eliminated local governments’ power to regulate firearms. MSSA passed a law protecting you from civil liability for injuring someone during legitimate self defense. MSSA passed a law allowing you to make a predator go away by announcing you are armed or showing that, without actually pulling the trigger and without fear of prosecution for felony “intimidation.” Every person in Montana who relies on a firearm for self defense should be an MSSA member. Make that happen.

If you are a retailer of ammo components: Until MSSA changed the law, retailers were only allowed to keep 500 primers and five pounds of smokeless powder on premises. Any more had to be kept in a secured magazine outside city limits. This was just unworkable. Because of changes MSSA successfully pushed, retailers may now keep up to 20,000 primers and up to 200 pounds of powder in the store. All retailers that stock primers and powder should be recurring Sponsor members of MSSA. Make that happen.

If you are a manufacturer of firearms or ammo: Because of MSSA work, you are protected from liability except for gross negligence. All firearm and ammo manufacturers in Montana should be recurring Sponsor members. Make that happen.

If you just favor shifting power from government to people: MSSA has gotten many laws passed limiting state and local government power to affect firearms and firearm owners. Everyone in this category also has reason to be an MSSA member. Make it happen.

A short word about the NRA. Too many people say, “I don’t need to be a member of MSSA because I’m a member of the NRA.” Whatever you think of the NRA (I’m a Life Member), of the 73 pro-gun bills MSSA has gotten passed in Montana, exactly zero were initiated by the NRA. The NRA has its place, but it doesn’t do what MSSA does in Montana.

These are the reasons why everyone involved in or enjoying Montana’s vibrant gun culture must participate in MSSA. If that doesn’t happen, I predict that MSSA will soon fade and the benefits MSSA has brought you will get chipped away.

You, Reader, must act. Contact ranges, shooting clubs, retailers, manufacturers, and individuals. Bring them all into the MSSA tent. Recirculate this message. Membership information is at mtssa.org.

Thanks loads for reading this and for your ongoing help.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association
www.mtssa.org
Author, Gun Laws of Montana
www.mtpublish.com

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