O'Neil bill would allow locked-up guns at schools

A bill that would change state law to allow firearms on school property if they are in a locked container or a locked vehicle has been introduced to the Montana Legislature by Rep. Jerry O’Neil, R-Columbia Falls.

House Bill 384 would also allow students to bring firearms to school property for sanctioned instructional activities “if the district has in place appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety.” O’Neil noted that schools in the past offered instruction in shooting sports.

The bill also states that a school official “may immediately suspend” a student “if there is probable cause to believe” the student violated state law covering firearms on school property. The current wording is “shall suspend” a student “who is determined” to have violated the state law. Students would have the right to due process before being expelled.

The bill also excludes the following from the definition of a firearm — a picture of a firearm; a fractional-sized replica of a firearm, such as on a toy soldier, charm bracelet or lapel pin; a person imitating the sound of a firearm discharge; and a hand formed into the shape of a firearm.

“I don’t want students suspended because they draw a picture of a gun or if they point their finger and go ‘Bang,’” O’Neil said.

O’Neil said the bill was drafted mostly by Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, a group he supports.

The bill in part is a response to an incident at Columbia Falls High School in 2010 in which Demari DeReu, a 16-year-old student at the time, accidentally left an unloaded rifle in the trunk of her car while it was parked at the high school.

An expulsion hearing was held that drew national attention and about 150 people, most of whom backed DeReu. O’Neil drew applause at the hearing when he said he would carry a bill that would clarify state law on the matter.

School District 6’s policy on firearms on school property was based on state law which in turn was based on the 1994 Gun-Free Schools Act. The federal act required schools that took federal funding to expel students who brought or possessed a firearm at school.

An exception in the federal law existed for firearms that were “lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property.” In the end, the school board voted not to expel DeReu.