Gun bill debate leads to tense confrontation
HELENA — The Montana Senate will now consider a bill that would greatly expand where concealed weapons can be carried in Montana after the House of Representatives passed House Bill 102 along party lines.
The debate over the bill briefly ground to a halt last week as one lawmaker shut down another’s comments as a violation of decorum.
Members of the Montana House of Representatives were debating HB 102 when Rep. Jim Keane, D-Butte, who opposed the bill, asked Rep. Seth Berglee, R-Joliet, if he had ever been shot.
Berglee, who sponsored the bill, which allows concealed carry on college campuses and inside banks, among other places, is a military veteran.
Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, was presiding over the House that day and cut Keane off, ruling that his question was irrelevant and a violation of decorum because of its deeply personal nature.
The spat came in the middle of heated back-and-forth testimony from Republicans and Democrats on HB 102.
“The fact is, this bill makes our communities and college campuses less safe,” said Rep. Kathy Kelker, D-Billings.
Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, voiced strong support for the measure. Garner, a former Kalispell Chief of Police, said the bill would allow citizens to properly defend themselves, adding that the only people who carry guns in restricted areas are criminals.
“I’m sorry I don’t agree with all my brothers and sisters on this, but it is time for us to provide the opportunity for law-abiding citizens in our communities [to concealed carry],” Garner said. “Criminals be warned — that’s what we’re doing here today. We’re empowering the citizens of Montana.”
Standard procedure quickly dissolved after Skees ruled Keane’s question was inappropriate. House Democrats in the room rose to their feet to oppose the ruling, and with enough members of the House in opposition, the decision on whether to allow Keane to continue was pushed to a vote on the floor. Keane lost the vote 56-41, and Skees allowed him three more minutes to speak on a different topic.
“In this bill, while it says ‘safety,’ people will die,” Keane said, expressing concern over an increase of gun violence, both deliberate and accidental. “When those issues come up and those things happen, who holds us accountable? No one. No one holds us accountable.”
Ultimately, the bill passed the House directly down party lines, with 66 Republicans voting “yes” and 31 Democrats voting “no” (three legislators were not present).
The bill is far from the last measure on guns coming down the pipeline this session. Skees has a draft of a bill in final review that would establish a “Montana school marshall program,” while Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, is carrying a bill that would allow legislators to conceal carry guns on state property.
But with Republicans commanding a 67-seat majority in the 100-member House and a 31-seat majority in the 50-member Senate, Democrats are unlikely to successfully oppose any firearms bill with strong Republcian support.
Austin Amestoy is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.