MT Senate Committee Hears Gun Protection Bills
Author: Kyle Schmauch, Senate Republicans Communications Manager
MT Senate Committee Hears Gun Protection Bills
Kyle Schmauch, Senate Republicans Communications Manager
HELENA, Mont.— The Senate Business and Labor Committee will hear two bills designed to protect Montana firearms businesses and gun owners on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 359, sponsored by Sen. Terry Vermeire, R-Anaconda, would prohibit financial institutions from tracking firearms-related sales using unique identification codes or other means. The bill comes in response to moves from credit card companies, banks, and anti-gun activists seeking to weaponize the financial system against gun owners.
SB 359 is written broadly to cover a wide range of financial institutions and payment providers and prohibits the tracking of sales of firearms, firearm components, accessories, and ammunition. A violation of SB 359 would fall under Montana’s unfair trade practices statutes.
“Modern payment and database technology makes it possible for the financial sector to conduct surveillance of law-abiding gun owners, and that’s exactly what activists and politicians opposed to the Second Amendment are seeking to do,” Vermeire said. “Senate Bill 359 is designed to allow Montanans to exercise their Second Amendment rights without being tracked for making legal purchases of firearms, accessories, and ammunition.”
The second bill is SB 361, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller, a Kalispell Republican. SB 361 is meant to prevent financial entities from discriminating against individuals, associations, and businesses on the basis of firearms. It requires the filing of a certificate of nondiscrimination and includes penalties for violations.
“Simply put, Montanans and Montana businesses should not be discriminated against for exercising their constitutional Second Amendment rights,” Fuller said.
