Montanans voted in favor of freedom last week by approving a ballot measure that protects the right to self-defense equally across the state.
For too long, anti-gun localities have enacted policies more strict than state laws, which creates a patchwork of varying restrictions on your Second Amendment rights, and makes it difficult for people to lawfully exercise their right to bear arms.
The measure, LR-130, will amend Montana’s state code to “remove a local government unit with self-government powers’ authority to restrict the Right-to-Carry. The measure would also curtail the power of a country, city, town, or consolidated local government to create gun-free zones,” reported the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA).
In effect, this strengthens the state’s preemption laws by fixing a gap in state authority to ensure that there is not a confusing patchwork of laws that could leave law-abiding gun owners in legal peril simply because they exercised their rights while traveling throughout the state.
“LR-130 protects us from entities in the future enacting stricter gun laws than exist at the state level,” said state Rep. Matt Regier (R) to local media.
The measure went to the ballot after Gov. Steve Bullock, who unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, then lost his bid for U.S. Senate to pro-gun incumbent Senator Steve Daines, vetoed a similar 2019 bill.
Anti-gun groups worked to defeat the referendum by spending heavily and sending out deceptive mailers. Amongst those financing these groups that oppose your constitutional rights was none other than former New York City mayor a Michael Bloomberg, another failed presidential candidate. His anti-gun group, Everytown for Gun Safety, gave support to groups who opposed the referendum, as reported by NRA-ILA.
Yet again, wealthy elites attempted to dictate how law-abiding Americans may exercise their Second Amendment rights by allowing restrictions to these freedoms to remain in place. Thankfully, Montanans voted in favor of freedom on LR-130.
Preemption laws are crucial, and the NRA has worked tirelessly to make sure that these laws are enacted in states throughout the country. Without them, localities could enact unconstitutional laws that have the sole intent of making your Second Amendment rights legally and functionally impossible to exercise. Such tactics have been used to erode your freedom, but in Montana, this is a win for freedom and for the right to keep and bear arms.
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