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DC v. Heller - Montana prepares to secede
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Posted on 02/19/2008 7:35:11 PM PST by djf

Secy of State Brad Johnson of Montana delivered a letter to the Washington Times about possible outcomes of the Heller decision.

Second Amendment an individual right

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide D.C. v. Heller, the first case in more than 60 years in which the court will confront the meaning of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Although Heller is about the constitutionality of the D.C. handgun ban, the court's decision will have an impact far beyond the District ("Promises breached," Op-Ed, Thursday).

The court must decide in Heller whether the Second Amendment secures a right for individuals to keep and bear arms or merely grants states the power to arm their militias, the National Guard. This latter view is called the "collective rights" theory.

A collective rights decision by the court would violate the contract by which Montana entered into statehood, called the Compact With the United States and archived at Article I of the Montana Constitution. When Montana and the United States entered into this bilateral contract in 1889, the U.S. approved the right to bear arms in the Montana Constitution, guaranteeing the right of "any person" to bear arms, clearly an individual right.

There was no assertion in 1889 that the Second Amendment was susceptible to a collective rights interpretation, and the parties to the contract understood the Second Amendment to be consistent with the declared Montana constitutional right of "any person" to bear arms.

As a bedrock principle of law, a contract must be honored so as to give effect to the intent of the contracting parties. A collective rights decision by the court in Heller would invoke an era of unilaterally revisable contracts by violating the statehood contract between the United States and Montana, and many other states.

Numerous Montana lawmakers have concurred in a resolution raising this contract-violation issue. It's posted at progunleaders.org. The United States would do well to keep its contractual promise to the states that the Second Amendment secures an individual right now as it did upon execution of the statehood contract.

BRAD JOHNSON Montana secretary of state Helena, Mont. Montana, the Second Amendment and D.C. v. Heller


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; US: Montana
KEYWORDS: bang; banglist; bradjohnson; heller; mt2008; mtsos; parker; rkba; secede; secession; secondamendment; separatism; statesecession; statesrights; union
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To: AFPhys
CBB: how can it be discovered if Montana pointed out this “contract” regarding individual gun rights to the USSC? Do you know if they did?

You might find *this link* to the Montana Secretary of State's website to be of interest.

201 posted on 02/22/2008 8:48:05 AM PST by archy (Et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno. [from Virgil's *Aeneid*.])
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To: AGreatPer
Name three cities or towns in Montana

The first one that came to my mind was the old mining camp town of Bannack, where the citizens were so annoyed with the criminal exploits of their crooked sheriff that they formed a Committee of Vigilence and hanged Sheriff Plummer and several of his henchmen.

Divide and Coolidge, once stops on the 38-mile-long Montana Southern Railroad also come to mind, though now under the population level of 300 required for town charters under state law.


202 posted on 02/22/2008 9:05:23 AM PST by archy (Et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno. [from Virgil's *Aeneid*.])
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To: archy

“Don’t forget that similar rumblings have been heard in Alberta and Saskatchewan....”

They don’t feel that their interests are being represented I suppose. Maybe one of our Canadian members could explain further.


203 posted on 02/22/2008 11:01:37 AM PST by dljordan
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To: archy

I might be from the northeast but I’m not a gun grabbing Liberal.


204 posted on 02/22/2008 12:07:16 PM PST by wastedyears (This is my BOOMSTICK)
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To: Republicanus_Tyrannus
eliminating all Federal tax revenues from the state.

Depending on how the State's books look sometimes this is actually a benefit :)

205 posted on 02/22/2008 2:22:37 PM PST by Domandred (McCain's 'R' is a typo that has never been corrected)
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To: wastedyears
I might be from the northeast but I’m not a gun grabbing Liberal.

No worries! But if/when things get really bad out your way, do know there's a place in the west where yoiu're welcome. Just don't wait too long to notice how bad things have gotten.

206 posted on 02/22/2008 2:40:31 PM PST by archy (Et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno. [from Virgil's *Aeneid*.])
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To: archy
Montana has two primary Minuteman support bases, Great Falls and Malmstrom AFBs. Their total number of Minuteman II Mmissiles is circa 350, less a few down for maintenance reefits, etc. There can be one, two or three Independent Reentry Vehicle [MIRV] warheads aboard each.

I smell a "what-if" novel...like an alternative history, but set in a fictional future.

Cheers!

207 posted on 02/22/2008 4:06:57 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: Republicanus_Tyrannus

That might not cause the problems for Montana that it would for some other states. Montana has a lot of open country with few paved roads and other infastructure that would depend on federal money. The school system will have to cut back- but in the long run going back to the basic education without oversight of the feds might well improve the schools. Montana could increase it’s state tax in order to collect the money it’s residents would ordinarily pay to the feds, and use that money to make up for the lack of federal funding.

I think Montana would do just fine on it’s own.


208 posted on 02/22/2008 4:39:12 PM PST by Tammy8 (Please Support and pray for our Troops, as they serve us every day.)
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To: CapnJack

You better hurry, if the decision causes Montana to secede the price will go up considerably.

My oldest daughter’s boyfriend just bought a cattle ranch there a few months ago- so we will be having a shotgun wedding in our family if the ruling goes against individual gun rights.


209 posted on 02/22/2008 4:42:15 PM PST by Tammy8 (Please Support and pray for our Troops, as they serve us every day.)
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To: djf; Joe Brower

Montana is a good place to be cold, but at least I’m friends with a good drummer there...


210 posted on 02/22/2008 6:24:39 PM PST by Blue Collar Christian (If "there are no losers here," then there are no winners here. ><BCC>NRA)
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To: archy

Myself I’m not much worried about, my only problems would be:

Transporting gear

Convincing family and friends to high tail it over there.


211 posted on 02/22/2008 8:35:24 PM PST by wastedyears (This is my BOOMSTICK)
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To: wastedyears
Myself I’m not much worried about, my only problems would be:

Transporting gear

I've got a truck yoiu can use. Shucks, most everyone in Wyoming and Montana has a truck you can use.

Convincing family and friends to high tail it over there.

There's no sales tax in Montana, either.

212 posted on 02/26/2008 2:09:43 PM PST by archy (Et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno. [from Virgil's *Aeneid*.])
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To: Tammy8

I would assume that for that one, the groom won’t be in danger of getting shot.


213 posted on 02/26/2008 3:09:13 PM PST by wastedyears (This is my BOOMSTICK)
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To: archy

I’m otherwise a lazy SOB, but I’m still the type that would prefer to do things myself until I’m certain I need help.

I would guess the best way to transport is to make a few trips on the road.


214 posted on 02/26/2008 3:10:35 PM PST by wastedyears (This is my BOOMSTICK)
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To: wastedyears
I would assume that for that one, the groom won’t be in danger of getting shot.

Only if he doesn't want to marry & let our entire family live on his Montana ranch...

215 posted on 02/26/2008 4:31:43 PM PST by Tammy8 (Please Support and pray for our Troops, as they serve us every day.)
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To: Tammy8

Gotcha


216 posted on 02/26/2008 4:45:06 PM PST by wastedyears (This is my BOOMSTICK)
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To: archy

Damn slow as FR’s getting — it’s losing my attention!

Just an FYI — if you plug the Lat/Lon into http://maps.google.com/ you get a better and closed view of that location — newer too.


217 posted on 03/02/2008 10:39:25 AM PST by brityank (The more I learn about the Constitution, the more I realise this Government is UNconstitutional !!)
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To: Joe Brower

A Chinese curse I believe


218 posted on 08/22/2008 7:10:10 AM PDT by Weya (Barack Hussein Obama hates the United States of America. No question about it.)
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