Nine Montana lawmakers carry concealed weapons

By Jennifer McKee of The Standard State Bureau - 02/04/2008

HELENA — State Rep. Ed Butcher has been packing heat for 30 years.

“I carry at all times,” the Winifred Republican said in a recent interview.

Today, Butcher carries a .38 caliber pistol, but back in 1979 it was a .22 handgun that he says saved his life.

A man was coming at him intending to kill him, Butcher believes.

“He didn’t think I carried a gun,” he said. Butcher pulled out his .22 pistol and held it to the man’s forehead. You’ve never seen eyes get so big so fast, Butcher said. The man backed down.

“It’s one of those things where I’d probably be dead in that situation if I hadn’t had it,” said Butcher. “It saved my life once and I’m a firm believer in it.” Butcher has never again drawn his concealed pistol. He is one of nine state lawmakers with a concealed weapons permit, a Lee Newspapers investigation shows, and the only one to ever brandish the firearm. Most of the nine lawmakers said they seldom carry a concealed weapon, but like the freedom of being able to do so.

Since 1991, state law has allowed Montanans to pay $50 and apply for a permit to carry a concealed handgun. County sheriffs issue the permits, after conducting a background check and requesting proof of some kind of gun training.

Today, 15,976 Montanans have a concealed weapons permit, or about two percent of the state’s adult population. State lawmakers, however, are almost three times more likely to have a concealed weapons permit. A recent Lee Newspapers investigation shows that while not one statewide elected official has a concealed weapons permit, nine of the 150 lawmakers do, or 6 percent of the total.

Of the nine, two are Democrats, six are Republicans; one, Rick Jore, of Ronan, is a Constitution Party member and the only member of his party in the Montana Legislature.

Most live outside the city limits, where permits are not required to carry a concealed handgun. Two, including Butcher, obtained their permits decades ago, when District Court judges granted such permits and they were not widely available. One, Rep. Ed Hilert, R-Glendive, is a captain in the Montana Highway Patrol and, by law, is allowed to carry a concealed handgun even without a permit.

The leaders of both the state Democratic and Republican parties also don’t have concealed weapons permits.

Proctor Republican Rep. Janna Taylor is the only woman in the Legislature with a concealed weapons permit. An avid bird hunter, Taylor said she is good with a gun. She got her permit about four years ago so she would have “a little extra protection” on her long trips to Helena and back when the Legislature was in session.

“As a female, I’m not going to carry (my gun) in plain sight,” she said. “It’s also my right to carry a gun.” Taylor said she doesn’t carry her gun every day and has never needed to use it. Once, her car slid off a mountain pass when it was seventeen below zero. Taylor was alone and said her gun gave her re-assurance as she waited for help.

“I’m always glad to have it,” she said.

Many lawmakers said they got their concealed weapons permits for similar reasons: The desire to protect themselves, if necessary, and a philosophical belief in the right of citizens to arm themselves, if they choose.

“I decided I was going to get (my license) before they made it harder to get,” said Jore.

Jore said he rarely carries his pistol with him, but believes he should have the right to, regardless.

No lawful gun owner in Montana needs a permit to carry a gun in plain sight. But if you want to slip a handgun in your pocket where no one can see it, that’s another story. Such concealed weapons are against the law and people caught breaking it can face up to a maximum punishment of $500 fine and six months in the county jail.

Conceal carry permits are good only for handguns.

In most parts of Montana, people don’t need a permit to carry a concealed handgun, said Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association and the main author of the current law. Concealed weapons are illegal only inside city limits or within the boundaries of a “logging, lumbering, mining or railroad camp.” There are some exceptions: If you are hunting, hiking, working on a ranch or doing other things in which “weapons are often carried for recreation or protection,” you can keep your weapon hidden, even if you’re in town, according to the law.

Many lawmakers said they got their permits because they sometimes travel with a gun concealed in the car for protection. They didn’t want to run afoul of the law if they ever got pulled over inside the city limits.

But a gun tucked under the seat or in a glove compartment is not illegal, Marbut said, even within the city limits. Montana law only forbids guns carried on your person, “wholly or partially covered by clothing or wearing apparel.” Guns in backpacks and briefcases are also legal, Marbut said. There’s been some debate surrounding guns in a woman’s purse. Is a purse luggage? Or is it “wearing apparel.” If a purse is luggage, then a gun concealed inside it would seem to be legal, he said. But if a purse is considered “wearing apparel” then hiding a gun in one would be against the law. The issue is yet unresolved, but three county attorneys in the state have weighed in on the debate. The county attorneys of Yellowstone, Missoula and Lewis and Clark counties have said that purses are luggage, not apparel, and guns in purses are therefore legal without a permit.

(The Lewis and Clark County attorney who made that announcement was Mike McGrath, now the state’s attorney general and a candidate for chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court.) Concealed weapons: Who’s got ’em?