A WIN IN MONTANA

In Montana they did what should be done routinely all over the country. The state Supreme Court struck down an unconstitutional law passed in Missoula to limit gun ownership and use early in the process. Such laws are patently unconstitutional and should be struck down routinely. But unfortunately, they are not. The Constitution states clearly that “the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.” Such laws infringe on that right and, according to the Constitution, are not laws, at all. But they are often enforced for years until the Supreme Court declares them unconstitutional. That sometimes takes a long time, and by the time it happens, lives and reputations are ruined, families broken up and financially ruined; by an unconstitutional law. In Montana, they ‘short-circuited” that, and declared it unconstitutional before it could do much damage. Politicians who pass such laws should be punished, but will not be. They would have to themselves vote in a law for such punishment, and they will not. The Founders were geniuses in their writing of the Constitution, but they were not perfect. They thought the embarrassment of having a law declared unconstitutional would prevent politicians from trying to pass such laws, They were wrong.