Montana contact your local state representatives today

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----- Original Message -----

From: Gary Marbut-MSSA To: mssa@mtssa.org Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 7:39 PMSubject: Alert - HB 246 up tomorrow
Dear MSSA Friends,

HB 246, our Montana-made guns bill, is up for Second reading (again) on the House floor tomorrow. Send messages!

You will remember that the purpose of HB 246 is to set up a challenge to the authority of Congress to regulate everything under the "commerce clause," that provision of the U.S. constitution giving Congress the power to regulate "commerce among the states." HB 246 declares that the feds have no authority over guns or ammo made and retained in Montana - None.

HB 246 passed the House on Second Reading once, but was re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee, because of the Fiscal Note attached to the bill. HB 246 require the Montana Attorney General, Steve Bullock, to file a declaratory judgment lawsuit in federal court to vet the challenge HB 246 sets up. Bullock complained that the 50 attorneys working for him in the Department of Justice just aren't up to handling this lawsuit, so he'd have to spend $60,000 to hire outside counsel for the suit. That was the Fiscal Note - $60,000 for Bullock to hire outside attorneys for the proposed lawsuit. Well, I guess Bullock knows best what caliber of attorneys he employs in Helena.

In order to avoid a money fight that might doom HB 246, the Appropriations Committee was asked to strip out the provision requiring the AG to file a lawsuit (we'll have to file it ourselves). With that done, HB 246 passed Appropriations 20-0.

Now, HB 246 is rescheduled for Second Reading again on the House Floor, TOMORROW.

Please get messages to your Representative in the House, and any other representatives you wish, asking them to please support HB 246 on Second Reading tomorrow, and on Third Reading after that.

In case you care to focus your comments on those Representatives who voted AGAINST HB 246 when it was on Second Reading before, I'll paste their names below.

Thanks for your help with this.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
Montana Shooting Sports Association
author, Gun Laws of Montana
Gun Laws of Montana

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Augare, Shannon
Barrett, Dick
Beck, Paul
Becker, Arlene
Belcourt, Tony
Bergren, Bob
Blewett, Anders
Boss Ribs, Frosty
Caferro, Mary
Campbell, Margarett
Dickenson, Sue
Driscoll, Robyn
Ebinger, Bob
French, Julie
Furey, Timothy
Grinde, Wanda
Hamilton, Robin
Hands, Betsy
Henry, Teresa
Hollenbaugh, Galen
Hunter, Chuck
MacDonald, Margaret
Malek, Sue
McAlpin, Dave
McChesney, Bill
McClafferty, Edith (Edie)
Noonan, Art
Noonan, Pat
Pease-Lopez, Carolyn
Phillips, Mike
Pomnichowski, JP
Reinhart, Michele
Sands, Diane
Sesso, Jon
Villa, Dan
Wilmer, Franke

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