Posted by (+346) 10 years ago
Interested to know what some of the reactions are to this recent letter to the editor that was in the Miles City Star......
Dear editor,
If state law grants one elected county official the power to determine if you'll be awarded a concealed weapons permit (CWP) and our city council has decided to grant you the extralegal privilege of carrying a loaded gun into a high school football game, a city park or the public square by revising our city weapons ordinance then the rest of us have every right to know who you are.
The compelling state interest in upholding the public's right to know over against a CWP holder's right to privacy is the public safety of each an armed citizen. Otherwise, the public fills a prescription for a legally armed secret society and the dangerous potential for mayhem at public assemblies.
Sen. Eric Moore (SD20-R) outrageously decided to write that deadly prescription when he introduced Senate Bill 145 (LC 1938), an unconstitutional measure that prohibits the release of any public information concerning CWP holders strongly opposed by the Montana Newspaper Association.
Rep. Bill McChesney (HD 40-D), masquerading as a political progressive, supported Moore's undemocratic bill in a gutless pander to the gun pimps of Montana with his affirmative vote on Wednesday.
Our Montana Constitution seeks to balance the public's right to know with an individual's right to privacy. That's hard to do when your legislators from both parties are standing on one side of the scales.
We don't need to swallow that poison. Urge Gov. Steve Bullock to veto LC 1938 and prevent Montana from losing its constitutional balance over concealed weapons.
Sincerely,
Joe R. Whalen
Miles City, MT
Concealed weapons permit holders' info needs to be public
Dear editor,
If state law grants one elected county official the power to determine if you'll be awarded a concealed weapons permit (CWP) and our city council has decided to grant you the extralegal privilege of carrying a loaded gun into a high school football game, a city park or the public square by revising our city weapons ordinance then the rest of us have every right to know who you are.
The compelling state interest in upholding the public's right to know over against a CWP holder's right to privacy is the public safety of each an armed citizen. Otherwise, the public fills a prescription for a legally armed secret society and the dangerous potential for mayhem at public assemblies.
Sen. Eric Moore (SD20-R) outrageously decided to write that deadly prescription when he introduced Senate Bill 145 (LC 1938), an unconstitutional measure that prohibits the release of any public information concerning CWP holders strongly opposed by the Montana Newspaper Association.
Rep. Bill McChesney (HD 40-D), masquerading as a political progressive, supported Moore's undemocratic bill in a gutless pander to the gun pimps of Montana with his affirmative vote on Wednesday.
Our Montana Constitution seeks to balance the public's right to know with an individual's right to privacy. That's hard to do when your legislators from both parties are standing on one side of the scales.
We don't need to swallow that poison. Urge Gov. Steve Bullock to veto LC 1938 and prevent Montana from losing its constitutional balance over concealed weapons.
Sincerely,
Joe R. Whalen
Miles City, MT