Montana to Federal Government: Go *&*$ yourself.

In an amazing act of defiance, the State of Montana has passed the House Bill 246, a.k.a. the "Montana Firearms Freedom Act". The link goes to the full text of the bill, which is actually readable. The basic talking points:

• The 2nd amendment guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms.
• The 9th and 10th amendments guarantees any rights not specifically given to the Federal Government are reserved to the States, or the People.
• The "interstate commerce" clause of the Constitution is what the Feds use as their authority to regulate guns, since they can cross state lines.
• HB 246 says that if the gun and ammo is made exclusively in Montana, marked as such (with a "Made in Montana" stamp), and will not cross state lines then it is intra-State commerce (commerce within the State). Therefore, such an item would be outside the Federal government's authority, and Federal laws do not apply.

According to the AP article, similar measures have been passed in Texas and Alaska. Montana plans to find a "squeaky clean" person to send a note to the ATF informing them that they plan to build and sell 20 .22 caliber rifles as prescribed in HB 246, all without Federal permits. Then they basically dare the Feds to stop them. If they try, Montana can sue, which then allows the issue to go to the court system, eventually the Supreme Court.

Bill sponsor Rep. Joel Boniek made very clear that he believed the "the issue here is not about firearms. It's about state rights." He could not be more correct. I'm no lawyer, but I am a thinker. If the item does not leave the state (if it did do that, HB 246 no longer applies and both Montana and the Feds hold it as illegal), then what right has the Federal gov't to interfere? If they do choose to step in, and the Courts uphold it, it will be yet another (perhaps the last) nail in the coffin for the 9th and 10th amendments, and by extension, the entire Constitution.