Montana Enacts a 9th & 10th Amendment Law

Travis Kavulla has an interesting article in National Review which he summarizes at his blog:

Gun Nuts

October 16th, 2009 by Travis Kavulla

Well, I have managed to get some work done this week, mostly in between fulminating about City Government…

The new National Review is out and includes my piece about the unprecedented Montana Firearms Freedom Act, our state’s rejection of federal regulation for arms made and staying within the state.

Gun Nuts
Montana sends a shot across the bow of federal regulation

Travis Kavulla

Great Falls, Mont.
Long has Montana been enthusiastic on the subject of guns, but the Montana Firearms Freedom Act takes the cake.

Passed this spring by the state legislature, a group of folks who meet for 90 days every other year, the law declares that any weapon or round of ammunition made in Montana and remaining within state borders “is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.” This bold declaration of independence became law October 1, though even before then the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms had sent out a memorandum to gun dealers, the summary of which was: Don’t even think about it. A lawsuit is pending. [...]

The piece includes a first-person description of the Great Falls Gun & Antique Show and also an interview with freshman Rep. Wendy Warburton, a Republican who took a seat in Havre and has a lot of conservative verve. I am sure many Beltway readers will be stunned to learn there is a Great Falls other than the one in Virginia.