courtesy: NYT
A gun lobbyist in Montana would like to be able to have federal agencies out of Montana altogether.
If you think that's impossible, think again.
The law had already been approved in 2011, and had sailed through both houses in the Montana legislature, but was vetoed by the then governor of the state.
The gun lobbyist, seeing a window of opportunity in the change of governor from the recent election, is on the attack again.
What his law proposal would in effect do is enable local sheriff to arrest federal agents if they are in Montana and arrest a citizen in that state if they have not obtained the permission from the Sheriff of jurisdiction.
If the proposal is passed, it would become a ballot question in the 2014 elections. The initiative, called Sheriffs First, is designed, in the gun lobbyists words, to avoid a repeat of Waco's incident, in which many people died after a federal incendiary device set off a fire that engulfed the building in which a sect had been barricaded in a long stand off.
What the Sheriffs First law would imply however, is not just an ability for the Sheriffs to have a say in a Waco like incident. It would actually subordinate any efforts by the federal agencies to the local Sheriff's will. In essence the Federal agency would have to formally request permission before initiating action. Without such permission, the federal agents could be incarcerated and charged with kidnapping if they arrest an offender in the state.
What this proposal does, however, is seek complete sovereignty of the state vs the federal agencies.
There is something odd about this: just a few weeks after new gun control legislation was proposed, some sheriff's offices in states such as Kentucky have vowed to disobey any gun law imposed nationally. So if it sounds like a case of two birds with one stone, it's because a close connection can be drawn between the two.
This proposal let's not forget, is in a state that has proposed that all Montana manufactured (there are none, by the way) firearms would be exempt from gun control legislation.
However, it would hardly be believable that the entire state would take such an inimical stand with federal forces. Collaboration between state and federal authorities is essential for good governing.
Source: Mother Jones 2.22.13
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