Appeals court rules on Montana firearms act

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling in a case that challenged federal authority over firearms manufactured in Montana for use in Montana.

The case, Montana Shooting Sports Association v. Holder, was filed in federal court in order to validate the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, which was enacted by the Montana Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzer in 2009.

The act declares that any firearms made and retained in Montana are not subject to federal regulation under the power given to Congress by the U.S. Constitution’s interstate commerce clause.

Plaintiffs in the case included the Missoula-based Montana Shooting Sports Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, and MSSA president Gary Marbut.

To establish a legal challenge, Marbut announced plans to manufacture a youth-model .22-caliber, bolt-action rifle called the Montana Buckaroo. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms informed Marbut that any such manufacture without a license would be illegal under federal law, and the plaintiffs filed suit on Oct. 1, 2009, in support of the Montana law.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy dismissed MSSA’s suit on Sept. 29, 2010, “for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.” The plaintiffs, however, argued that Marbut’s plans to make the Montana Buckaroo were real, and they appealed Molloy’s ruling.

Oral arguments were heard by the Ninth Circuit Court on March 4 in Portland, Ore. They issued their ruling on Aug. 23, reversing Molloy and stating that Marbut had standing on the issue. But the appellate court also ruled that existing U.S. Supreme Court precedent was against the plaintiffs on the merits of the case.

“This was about as good of a ruling as we could have expected from the Ninth Circuit,” Marbut said. “We must get to the U.S. Supreme Court to accomplish our goal of overturning 70 years of flawed Supreme Court rulings on the interstate commerce clause. We knew that the Ninth Circuit couldn’t help us with that. Only the Supreme Court can overturn Supreme Court precedent. However, now that the standing question is resolved in our favor, we have the green light to appeal to the Supreme Court.”

Marbut said the plaintiff’s attorneys have begun to work on the appeal process.

Since the Montana Firearms Freedom Act was enacted, nine other states have enacted similar legislation, and about 20 additional states have introduced similar bills. For more information about the Firearms Freedom Act movement and the lawsuit, visit online at www.FirearmsFreedomAct.com.