Is this what Krazy Kerns and his fellow travelers had in mind for their castle doctrine bill this past legislature?
A man who police said shot his Wal-Mart co-worker in a dispute over the length of a work break has been released from custody because his actions may be protected by Montana's recently enacted "castle doctrine" law.
The shooting, which took place Monday evening, is under investigation by the Billings Police Department and could still result in charges. But Yellowstone County Attorney Dennis Paxinos said language in the "castle doctrine" bill passed during the last session of the Montana Legislature required him to release the shooter until more information becomes available.
The law asserts, among other things, that a person has a "natural right" to use firearms for self-defense and is not required to summon law enforcement assistance before using "justifiable" force to ward off an attack.
(I had no idea the Montana secessionists were so serious...I mean, 50 votes in the House??? My thoughts, as always, to come... - promoted by Jay Stevens)
I can't remember the last time I did this, but the issue is important enough that I am cross-posting from 4&20blackbirds
I don't know how much people have heard or read about Wednesday's vote on HR3 (I ever-so-briefly mentioned it here), but as a result of the party-line 50-50 vote, Democrats are receiving nasty emails and death threats for their "no" vote.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Michael More, of Gallatin Gateway. HB3 was a reintroduced version of HJ26 which failed in committee and a blast motion on to the floor.
HB3 was presented at a "state's rights" bill, but had overtones of secession and asserted that Montana was no subjected to the United States Constitution. James Conner, of Flathead Memo has a great piece up, history lesson and all, titled Will Montana fire on Fort Sumter? that should not be missed.
Conner also took the incentive to find out who the "horsetrading Democrat" was that let this thing ooze out of committee for the House floor vote: Great Falls' Rep. Deb Kottel, which, sadly, is of little surprise.
Jhwygirl has some excellent posts up. Earlier she posted the schedule for the first half of this week -- just to give you a taste of what contentious things were batted around in the legislative chambers.
Krazy Kerns' gun bill -- HB 228 -- had its hearing, and jhwygirl noted that opposition is increasing. And it's gaining wider attention, too. Gouras' AP report landed in the Seattle Times. I still don't get it: do Montanans think that needing to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon is a bad idea? And as jhwygirl noted, Larry Jent's SB 92 establishes a castle doctrine for Montanans that's reasonable. Why the love for Kerns' bill?
And the Horse Butcher bill sailed through its Senate committee yesterday. Now I'm not deaf to the need for a place to send horses to slaughter -- I'm not even against using the plant to slaughter wild horses -- but as jhwygirl points out, "this is one bill that has been cited as a violation of Montana's guaranteed right to a clean and healthful environment."
Another way of looking at this bill, is that it gives preferential legal and regulatory treatment to one particular industry. Why? Why not hold the horse slaughter industry to the same health and safety benchmarks as any other?
Mike Dennison's got a report on SB 499, which would lower the coal-severance tax for "green" projects. Its sponsor, Jeff Essman, argues that lowering the tax means more coal production and revenue. Opponents call it another boondoggle for the coal industry:
That same promise was made 22 years ago when the coal industry successfully lobbied to cut Montana's 30 percent coal-severance tax to 15 percent, they said - and it did not lead to more coal production.
"Except for a temporary increase to get the bill passed, there was no increase in production; if anything, it has gone down," said Verner Bertelsen of Helena, a former legislator and co-chairman of Montanans for the Coal Trust. "We doubt that reducing the tax will stimulate coal development in Montana. There are many more significant factors in siting a coal mine."
I'm leaning towards the boon-doggle side. That, and coal's a dying industry. Let it die, and let's think of better, more sustainable long-term use of our public lands...
And in Missoula, there's some buzz that it's not receiving its fair share of the stimulus money. And what money it is getting isn't going to mass transit or city infrastructure projects.
Can anyone explain Greg Barkus' rant on the Rotunda Report against government spending during a recession? It sounds like a theory patched together from shaky theoretical texts and right-wing blogs. We're in a Keynesian world right now; does Barkus not know that? In any case, it's kind of chilling to think that this man has any power over the state economy.
There were two races that could still flip after provisional ballots were counted: HD58 and HD100, both held by Republicans. If provisional and absentee ballots changed the outcome of the race to the Democratic challengers, the House would have a clear Democratic majority.
Barring election miracles, Krayton Kerns and Bill Nooney are heading back to the House.
A 50-50 split favors the Democrats, who, by law, get to appoint the Speaker of the House. (In a split House, the Speaker has to be the same party as the Governor.) The committees are split evenly, with parties splitting the chairs of the committees. The Speaker gets to assign bills to particular committees, and set the schedule for voting on the bills.
Not an ideal situation, of course. But much better than having a Republican majority again. Still, it's going to be another ugly session. Look for House Republicans to do a lot of moaning and finger-pointing, and the Senate to be the body that blocks key legislation.
Here's an interesting letter: Rep. Krayton Kerns takes up the names of Roger Koopman and John Sinrud and compares them to Vietnam Veterans who got unfairly picked on.
For those keeping score at home, this is the second insane comparison between John Sinrud's woes and those of men and women serving our country in warzones.
Beyond that, the letter is simply inane, including quotes like this, "Politics is truly a blood sport."
No. It's not Mr. Kerns. Neither Roger Koopman nor John Sinrud got shot at in the line of duty.
Honestly, Martyrs appear to be a dime a dozen in the GOP House ranks.
Final Update -- Eaton apparently lost. Three votes. There's still a recount in Jefferson County, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Still, Speaker Sales may be not not such a bad thing.
Original Post -- The Laurel recount is still going. According to Ed Kemmick's story, as of 3:15, with the largest of 5 precincts counted, Kerns' count was the same as the canvass tally and Eaton was one ballot short of where she was at in the canvass.
Four more precincts to be counted.
Update -- I just heard that Emilie is not down. Apparently, there is a misplaced ballot or somesuch.
By the way, for you folks just tuning in. Emilie Eaton is the Democrat. Krayton Kerns is the Republican. Before the recount, they were tied. A tie goes to the Governor and, therefore, to Emilie.
