Monday, September 16th, begins Montana’s official week to celebrate our cherished hunting heritage. Montana law urges you to celebrate this week in all lawful ways, so plan some sort of activity or event.
I have told the story of how this law was created in 1991. I’ll post that story again for your interest just below the current state law, which is:
Official Observance Of Montana’s Hunting Heritage
1-1-226. Official observance of Montana’s hunting heritage. The week beginning the third Monday in September is an official week of observance in Montana to commemorate this state’s valued heritage of hunting game animals. During this week, all Montanans are urged to:
(1) reflect on hunting as an expression of our culture and heritage;
(2) acknowledge that it is our community of hunters who have made the greatest contributions to the establishment of current game animal populations; and
(3) celebrate this culture and heritage in all lawful ways.
Celebration of RKBA & Montana’s Hunting Heritage
In 1991, I was in the State Capitol lobbying for our successful “shall-issue” concealed weapon permit bill. It was difficult to get legislators’ attention because there was a tremendous controversy in the Legislature over whether or not Montana should adopt Martin Luther King Day as a paid state holiday.
That was a marginal issue in Montana because there just aren’t many African Americans living here. For many legislators, it seemed awfully remote. But the liberals in the Legislature really wanted the bill to pass, mostly to flex their political muscle. That session, we had a Republican governor, but the Democrats controlled the Senate and the House by slim margins. That made for a lot of partisan squabbling.
I had a bit different take on the issue. Considering how very many gun owners (90+% Montana households) and hunters we have in Montana, it seemed to me that if we could have a day for Dr. King, we ought to have a whole week to celebrate our right to keep and bear arms, and another whole week to celebrate our culture and heritage of hunting.
So, I sat on a bench in the hallway of the Capitol and wrote out two separate bills on a yellow legal tablet. It was beyond the deadline in the session when individual legislators could introduce new bills, but it was not too late for whole committees to introduce new bills.
I took my two handwritten bill drafts to friends on the Senate Fish and Game Committee. The Senate F&G Committee loved my two bills, especially as a salve to a lot of hard feelings over the King holiday battle. So, the House F&G Committee had my two bills quickly drafted in official style, printed, and introduced. The two bills were quickly approved by the Committee and flew through the Senate and House.
- The RKBA bill, HB594, passed the House by 90-7 on the Third Reading and passed the Senate by 45-5 on the Third Reading.
- The Hunting Heritage bill, HB 613, passed the House on the Third Reading by 89-9 and passed the Senate on the Third Reading by 43-7. Both bills were signed by Governor Racicot, and are now the law in Montana, found at 1-1-224, M.C.A., and 1-1-226, M.C.A.
The 1991 Legislature also passed the King bill. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is now a legal holiday in Montana on the third Monday in January. Maybe state employees will eventually ask for two paid weeks off to hunt and shoot.
Celebrate!
Best wishes,
Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association
About Gary Marbut
Longtime Montana political observer and participant Gary Marbut is president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners.
