Gazette Opinion: Don't let felons carry concealed weapons
Montanans take their Second Amendment rights seriously, so it's no surprise that a bill affirming rights to self-defense in homes and occupied buildings won overwhelming support in the Montana Senate on Jan. 31. Senate Bill 92, sponsored by Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman, restates the "castle doctrine" that has long been respected in Montana's legal system.
However, the Montana House's approval Monday of House Bill 228, sponsored by Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel, raises serious concerns for law-abiding Montanans. HB228's reach isn't limited to homes or buildings. It would apply everywhere: roads, parks, sidewalks. It muddles rather than clarifying self-defense law. If HB228 becomes law:
• Anybody would be allowed to carry concealed weapons in cities and towns. Present state law allows citizens to carry concealed weapons outside city limits, but requires individuals to get a permit from the county sheriff to carry concealed weapons inside city limits. There would be no permitting process with background checks and firearms training requirements if SB228 were the law.
• People could brandish firearms "with no justification for the display" and be immune from prosecution.
• Convicted felons would be allowed to carry concealed weapons. Even the 844 registered sexual and violent offenders residing in Yellowstone County would be allowed to carry concealed weapons. Under present state law, it's a felony for a convicted felon to be in possession of a concealed weapon.
HB228 prohibits carrying a concealed weapon only "if using it to commit a crime." That "changes the law from preventive-type to cleaning up the mess," Yellowstone County Attorney Dennis Paxinos said. For example, now if officers find a concealed weapon on a convicted felon when breaking up a scuffle, they can charge the felon with a new felony and confiscate the weapon. Under HB228, the felon would be entitled to carry a gun until he used it to shoot another person.
The expansion of self-defense claims encouraged by HB228 would be particularly dangerous in situations involving domestic violence, according to Mark Murphy, chief deputy Yellowstone County attorney. It's common in domestic violence cases for both partners to claim the other acted violently - even when one partner was seriously injured and the other wasn't. Murphy is concerned that HB228 would encourage violent partners to use deadly force, because the bill would shift the burden of a self-defense claim to the county attorney to prove that the shooter wasn't afraid when he shot his wife.
The Montana Sheriff's and Peace Officers Association, the Montana Association of Chiefs of Police and the Montana County Attorneys Association all strongly oppose HB228.
Perhaps some of the House members who voted for HB228 wanted to show their support for gun rights. In doing so, they missed or ignored the threats to public safety that this ill-conceived bill poses.
The Montana Senate must stop it. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee ought to reject HB228 because it would increase risks of deadly domestic violence and put concealed weapons in the hands of convicted felons. We call on Montana state senators to stand up for law and order by killing HB228.
Meanwhile, the House ought to support SB92, a true self-defense measure for Montanans.
