Permitless Carry Passes Montana Senate, Headed to Governor’s Desk

On February 15, the Montana Senate passed permitless carry legislation which will now head to Governor Steve Bullock’s (D) desk.

The legislation was sponsored by state Representative Bill Harris (R-Winnett) and is designed to make carry laws uniform throughout the state.

Currently, Montana requires residents to have a concealed carry permit before carrying in a city or town. But the Montana DOJ says, “You may carry a concealed weapon without a permit if you are outside the official boundaries of a city or town or the confines of a logging, lumbering, mining or railroad camp.”

Harris’s legislation — House Bill 262 — would allow Montana residents to carry without a permit inside a city just as they currently do when outside the city limits.

The NRA-ILA reported on HB 262, saying:

[It] would allow any law-abiding individual who can legally possess a firearm to carry a handgun for self-defense in Montana without having to obtain a permit to do so. This bill recognizes a law-abiding adult’s unconditional Right to Keep and Bear Arms for self-defense in the manner he or she chooses.

The NRA-ILA stresses that “self-defense situations are difficult, if not impossible, to anticipate,” and Montana residents’ freedom to defend themselves ought not to be restricted to certain areas of the state.

The Great Falls Tribune quoted state Representative Frank Garner (R-Kalispell) saying HB 262 is “for those times police can’t be there.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.