Montana to Feds: Hands Off Our Rights

Written By: Bob Unruh  |  Posted: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Lawmakers suggest Congress should be on trial in gun law dispute
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Lawmakers in Montana contend courts should decide whether Congress has overstepped its authority in a dispute over a state exemption from federal regulations for guns made and sold in the state.
"Should Congress enact a law that appears to conflict with the guidance in the [Montana Firearms Freedom Act], the courts may then determine whether Congress has acted within the scope of its delegated powers as limited by later amendments, " an amicus brief on behalf of Montana legislators, said. "The courts may then determine the extent to which Congress's enactment has abrogated the state's execise of power within the same sphere."
The brief was filed just days ago in a lawsuit that was brought against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Montana Shooting Sports Association in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont.
It seeks a declaration that the federal government must stay out of the way of Montana's management of its own firearms.
While Montana was the first state to adopt such legislation, six other states already have followed suit. South Dakota, Wyoming, Tennessee, Utah, Idaho and Arizona also now have Firearms Freedoms Acts on their books, and Alaska has plans awaiting the governor's signature to become law.
Gary Marbut, chief of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said another two dozen states also are in various stages of considering such plans.
The brief, submitted by Bozeman, Mont., attorney Jennifer Bordy and Jeffrey Renz of the University of Montana School of Law on behalf of state legislators in Montana, said the law is a "truism."
"It is the Montana legislature's expression that the mere fact that a manufactured good is a firearm or a firearm accessory does not automatically subject it to federal regulation."
The arguments are based on the Commerce Clause as well as the Second, Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
"The law