{"id":14323,"date":"2016-09-27T09:23:08","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T15:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=14323"},"modified":"2016-09-27T09:23:47","modified_gmt":"2016-09-27T15:23:47","slug":"missoula-oks-background-checks-on-gun-sales-transfers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2016\/09\/missoula-oks-background-checks-on-gun-sales-transfers\/","title":{"rendered":"Missoula OKs background checks on gun sales"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Guns\"<\/a>

In this still frame from the video recording of last night’s Missoula City Council meeting, an opponent of mandatory background checks on gun sales\u00a0makes his case.<\/p><\/div>\n

Missoula\u2019s gun lobby and its supporters sought to defeat an ordinance requiring background checks on all firearm sales and transfers within the city limits on Monday<\/span><\/span> night, long before the scheduled hearing on the issue began.<\/p>\n

But while opponents and the National Rifle Association mounted a strong opposition, arguing that the ordinance would be both unenforceable and unconstitutional, the Missoula City Council voted 8-4 to approve the new law.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that by passing this, we raise awareness of what it means to be a responsible gun owner,\u201d said Ward 6 council member Marilyn Marler. \u201cI wish this would come down from the state level. But sometimes we have to stick our neck out, and it\u2019s uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday<\/span><\/span> night\u2019s final hearing, attended by roughly 100 people\u2013including many from outside Missoula\u2013saw equal representation from both sides.<\/p>\n

Those in favor of background checks said it was time to stop kicking the can down the road out of fear of legal action. Those against the measure accused city leaders of overreach and infringing on their Second Amendment rights.<\/p>\n

One opponent said it would be \u201cpretty fun\u201d if supporters placed a \u201cno guns here\u201d sign outside their homes, then waited to see what happened. Another, Mark McMillan, said the ordinance\u2019s expected lawsuits will bankrupt the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two things I can do in the future to actually make a difference,\u201d he said. \u201cI can run for office and, if elected, actually get some compensation for my time and have a vote and voice that matters. Two, I can work and contribute as much in political contributions to the opponents of those here who are using taxpayer money in their quest for a bankrupt utopia of rainbows and unicorns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barry Dutton disagreed, saying it was time to take action against the illegal possession of firearms. Doing nothing, he said, was no longer acceptable. He praised the measure\u2019s sponsors and supporters for having the courage to move the issue forward.<\/p>\n

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>\u201cThe NRA has hamstrung our national and state government, so we must address this issue at the local level,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s clear, we have too many guns and too loose a system for sales. We also know that ordinances like this work at reducing gun violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ordinance, more than a year in the making, comes with various exceptions, including guns traded in wills and trusts, those obtained by citizens with a valid concealed weapons permit, and those seeking a firearm for emergency uses.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s primary sponsor, Ward 1 council member Bryan von Lossberg, also maintained his argument that the new law adheres to the Montana Code Annotated, which grants local governments the power to suppress the possession of firearms by convicted felons, adjudicated mental incompetents and illegal aliens.<\/p>\n

Opponents disagree with that interpretation of state law, though several members of the council pushed forward regardless, saying the city had a moral obligation to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are never any guarantees in the law, but we do our best to analyze them,\u201d said Ward 3 council member Gwen Jones. \u201cWe clearly have issues in Montana with gun violence. This is a common sense area where I see we can take a small step. This is a safety issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council members Annelise Hedahl, Julie Armstrong, Michelle Cares and Harlan Wells voted against the measure. John Wilkins initially abstained, though he later changed his vote in support.<\/p>\n

Mayor John Engen also supported the ordinance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NRA has been bullying people for a long time, and I decided I wasn\u2019t going to be bullied anymore,\u201d Engen said. \u201cI\u2019m done being politically expedient on this issue. I\u2019m not going to avoid engaging in what I think is common sense on behalf of the people I believe in at the risk of losing my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Missoula Current<\/a>, an independent online newspaper, of which\u00a0Martin Kidston is the founding editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Missoula\u2019s gun lobby and its supporters sought to defeat an ordinance requiring background checks on all firearm sales and transfers within the city limits on Monday night, long before the scheduled hearing on the issue began. But while opponents and the National Rifle Association mounted a strong opposition, arguing that the ordinance would be both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":14324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[5015,1886,5013,5014,4894],"class_list":["post-14323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montana","category-news","tag-bryan-von-lossberg","tag-john-engen","tag-missoula-city-council","tag-nra","tag-second-amendment","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}