Here is an article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The original post was a bit confusing in that it included information from the 2005 session. Also, a link to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle date 2007 has bill numbers from 2005 for some reason. The bills passed the House at that time but were killed in the Senate Judiciary committee. Hearings on this year's bills are coming up on Friday in the House Judiciary committee.
http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2007/02/01/breakingnews/40guns.txt
Lawmaker wants people to keep guns during emergencies
By WALT WILLIAMS Chronicle Staff Writer
HELENA -- Come earthquake or wildfire, a local lawmaker wants to ensure that people can still grab their guns.
Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman, is proposing legislation that would prevent governmental authorities from confiscating firearms during times of crisis, except during normal police actions when there is cause to believe a crime is being committed with a gun.
The senator pointed to Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, where law enforcement agents brought in from outside the city confiscated guns as looters and other hoodlums had the run of the streets.
"Many Montanans are very concerned this sort of confiscation doesn't happen here," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
Senate Bill 309 would prevent government agents from confiscating firearms during a disaster or when a state of emergency has been declared. It also would restrict the use of nonresident peace officers who are sometimes called in to assist in an emergency.
Disasters are when people most need firearms for protection, with law enforcement busy and thinly spread assisting victims, Garett Bacon of East Helena said.
"(SB 309) doesn't hold us above the law," he said. "All it does is protect us from the chaos that would reign."
The bill is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and the Montana Shooting Sports Association.
MSSA president Gary Marbut said in the aftermath of Katrina, the best protected neighborhoods in New Orleans were those that had formed armed neighborhood watches.
"We hope it will not be necessary for us to have a law like this in Montana," he said, but it was good "proactive" policy.
Wildfires would be the most common natural disasters during which SB 309 would kick in.
Southwest Montana, particularly Gallatin County, is also at risk of earthquakes, with one study by the county Geographic Information Systems office showing that a moderately strong earthquake along one of the faults
in the region could do extensive structural damage throughout Bozeman and the surrounding communities.
There were no opponents of the bill.
