I generally abhor soliciting money for specific causes due to the myriad of issues involved. However, I'm going to make an exception here. As you might know, Montana led the nation in drafting a "Firearms Freedom Act" that specifically challenged federal authority on guns based on the "Commerce clause" of the Constitution, which is the claimed basis for all this federal regulation of our guns. The new law (effective October 2009) basically says that a gun manufactured inside a state, for its state residents, that doesn't leave the state is exempt from Commerce clause regulation (i.e., no FFL needed, no background checks, no federal oversight). Predictably, the BATFE (a very useless federal agency) has already issued letters to Montana and Tennessee (who passed a similar law after Montana but whose effective date is before) FFL holders that these new laws are trumped by federal law.
This whole deal will result in a court showdown, which means our cause needs your money. I'll let Gary Marbut, head of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, lay it out.
"The Montana Shooting Sports Association has launched an important fundraising drive to defray costs of litigating the state-made guns concept.
MSSA has gotten 54 pro-gun and pro-hunting measures through the Montana Legislature in the past 30 years. These include HB 246, called the Montana Firearms Freedom Act (MFFA), passed in 2009, which declares that any firearms made and retained in Montana are not subject to any federal authority or regulation. This is a Tenth Amendment challenge to overuse of the power given to Congress in the U.S. Constitution to "regulate … commerce among the several states."
The principles in HB 246 must be vetted in federal court. MSSA is now finalizing litigation strategy to assert these principles.
This state-made guns challenge is sweeping the Nation. Clones of the MFFA have been introduced in Alaska, Texas, Tennessee (passed in TN), South Carolina, Minnesota and Florida. Legislators in other states have indicated that they will also introduce MFFA clones as soon as possible in Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Washington.
As the originating state in this challenge to federal power, other states are looking to Montana to lead the challenge in court. It is for this purpose that MSSA is raising funds.
MSSA needs your help!
Anyone able to make a donation can make a check payable to "MSSA", and mark "MFFA" (for Montana Firearms Freedom Act) in the memo line. Any such donations to MSSA are not tax deductible (hey, we don't want the hassle or political limitations associated with becoming a tax exempt entity).
Checks can be mailed to:
MSSA
P.O. Box 4924
Missoula, Montana 59806
OR, a donor can use the PayPal button in the upper left of the MSSA Website front page to make a credit card donation. Just go to:
http://www.mtssa.org
Thanks loads for whatever you can do to help!!
Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com
If you can help, please do. Now.
Scott
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