States Getting in Line to Battle Federal Gun Control Laws

In October a state law took effect in Montana that has sent repercussions throughout the entire country. Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed legislation stating that firearms, accessories, and ammunition that is manufactured entirely within the state of Montana are not subject to federal regulation, including requirements for sellers to keep records and for buyers to go through background checks. The law states that the products would be subject only to state regulation, and the manufacture of machine guns and some large-caliber guns is not permitted.

The legal fight was started by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, when it contacted all licensed gun dealers in Montana last year and told them they were bound to comply with federal fun regulations despite the new law. The ATF said that Montana lacked the authority required to exempt guns from federal gun control laws. So the Montana Shooting Sports Association then filed suit against the federal government, claiming that as long as guns manufactured in Montana aren't sold between states, the federal government has no business regulating them.

Seven more states - Utah, Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia - all filed "friend of the court" briefs to be included in Montana's lawsuit against the federal government. Gary Marbut, head of the MSSA, said that his group is pleased that other states saw the merit of Montana's case and wanted to get involved in the fight. After Montana's law was passed in October, similar "firearms freedom" laws were enacted in Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, South Dakota, and Tennessee, and a similar bill is awaiting approval in Idaho. According to Marbut, similar laws are being considered in 21 other states.

The states contend that the U.S. Constitution gives them the right to regulate and control all activities that take place solely within state borders, and the federal government has no place in state affairs. The U.S. Department of Justice has asked that the suit be dismissed, saying that individual states are not allowed to exempt themselves from following national gun control laws. But the states are joining into a growing new grassroots movement that seeks to invoke the principle of "states' rights" - fighting back against what many Americans view as an increasingly intrusive, overreaching federal government. The main goal of this lawsuit is focused on the Tenth Amendment to the Bill of Rights, which says that "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said that the law passed in Utah is very similar to Montana's law, and he is pleased that other states are concerned about the issue. Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg has confirmed that Wyoming will join Utah and Montana in the lawsuit. Wyoming's governor, Dave Freudenthal, said that their state is joining in the fight because their laws are similar and the case related to legal issues that Wyoming is currently facing. Marbut said that he thinks many gun rights groups and other state attorneys general will be signing on the support the lawsuit. "Hopefully it will impress the court that this is a serious deal," Marbut said. "We feel very strongly that the federal government has gone way too far in attempting to regulate a lot of activity that occurs only in-state," said Marbut. "It's time for Montana and her sister states to take a stand against the bullying federal government, which the legislature and governor have done and we are doing with this lawsuit."