A prominent Missoula-based gun rights group has partnered with a national organization to test federal authority over a new class of firearms: guns manufactured and used solely in the state of Montana.
The Montana Shooting Sports Association, headquartered in Missoula, and the Second Amendment Foundation, of Bellevue, Wash., announced Monday they intend to file suit on Oct. 1 to prevent federal gun control laws from being enforced in Montana for guns made and used within the state's boundaries.
"If a gun is made in Montana and stays in Montana, it isn't engaging in interstate commerce," said Alan Gottlieb, of the Second Amendment Foundation. "The federal government really should bug out."
At issue is the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, which passed the 2009 Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. That law states that guns, ammunition and certain gun parts manufactured and used in Montana are not subject to federal gun laws.
The law goes into effect Oct. 1. Several other states are considering identical legislation, although so far only Tennessee has passed a similar measure. ...
Article here. Unfortunately, current Supreme Court case law on the scope of the Commerce Clause will likely prove a tough obstacle to overcome. Those precedents actually date back to Depression era cases such as Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942), and helped enable the vast body of overreaching federal laws we have today. I suspect that this issue will end up before the Supreme Court if the plaintiffs prevail in the lower courts, but a win in the lower courts will likely require an appeals court willing to buck Supreme Court precedent.
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