Montana Supreme Court Declines to Hear Board of Regents’ Challenge to New Constitutional Carry Bill

Earlier this year, Montana became the eighteenth constitutional carry state, when Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 102 into law. House Bill 102 also prohibited the Montana Board of Regents from regulating or placing undue burdens on “on the possession, transportation, or storage of firearms on or within university system property” by law-abiding gun owners.

The Board of Regents took issue with that provision of the Bill. But instead of following the ordinary legal course of action and bringing a lawsuit in a district court, the Board of Regents directly asked the Montana Supreme Court to strike the bill as an unconstitutional interference with their authority to manage the Montana University System. Yesterday, the Montana Supreme Court gave the Board of Regents a setback when it declined to hear the case, finding that there was nothing preventing the Board of Regents from following ordinary legal procedures. 

The Board of Regents then refiled the lawsuit in Lewis and Clark County, and on Friday, the judge temporarily blocked campus carry from taking effect. This ruling does not affect the other portions of the bill.  

NRA-ILA will continue to monitor the matter.     

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on this and all of ILA’s efforts to defend your constitutional rights.