Montana Sticking Up for States Rights

Montana fires a warning shot over states’ rights

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana is trying to trigger a battle over gun control — and perhaps make a larger point about what many folks in this ruggedly independent state regard as a meddlesome federal government.

In a bill passed by the Legislature earlier this month, the state is asserting that guns manufactured in Montana and sold in Montana to people who intend to keep their weapons in Montana are exempt from federal gun registration, background check and dealer-licensing rules because no state lines are crossed.

Texas and Alaska are also considering similar legislation.

I am split in how I feel about this. On one hand, I feel that the federal government has seeped into to much of our daily lives. On the other hand, I don’t see how they can keep these firearms from entering interstate commerce, which means the federal government does have the power to regulate them. Yet, where can the federal government regulate the manufacture and sale of these firearms. If they are manufactured in state and sold in state only to residents of the state, the federal government would only be able to regulate their transport out of the state, in my opinion. But, without setting up border checkpoints on the borders of these states, they will be unable to do that. This could open up a large can of worms that could lead to more severe federal firearms restrictions. I could see this leading to federal registration if you want to transport your firearms from state to state, which I do not think is a good idea.