With Democrats in control of the federal government, more state legislatures are pushing to guard the freedom of their residents by removing concealed carry permit requirements.
ABC News reports permitless has the support of Republican Governors in Utah and Tennessee, and an expansion of permitless carry has already passed the House in Montana.
Sixteen states currently have permitless carry, or constitutional carry, as it is often called.
On March 12, 2019, Breitbart News reported those 16 states as Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Montana has permitless carry in much of the state, but that carry is curtailed by state-mandated gun-free zones in certain areas, many of which are located on public property.
Breitbart News noted Montana House Bill 102, which is sponsored by Rep. Seth Berglee (R-Dist. 58), will remove numerous state-mandated gun-free zones, including those now maintained by the Montana university system.
The bill states:
Nowhere in Article X, section 9(2)(a), of the Montana constitution is any power granted to amend, suspend, alter, or abolish the Montana constitution, nor is any power granted to affect or interfere with the rights the people have reserved to themselves specifically from interference by government entities and government actors in Article II of the Montana constitution.
The school and the Montana university system were created and are controlled by the Montana constitution and the land and buildings occupied by schools and the university system are public property and not private property and are therefore government entities.
Any significant prohibition upon the possession of firearms at or on the various campuses of the Montana university system calls into question the rights that the people have reserved to protect themselves from government interference under Article II, section 12, of the Montana constitution.
Campus carry is currently the law of the land in 11 states. Those states are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. (NOTE: The Tennessee law applies to university employees, not students.)
If Rep. Berglee’s legislation becomes law Montanans will not only see a reduction in gun-free zones but may also witness their state become the 12th to have campus carry.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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