AN ACT REVISING THE LAW RELATED TO THE OFFENSE OF CARRYING A
CONCEALED WEAPON; PROVIDING THAT THE LAW DOES NOT APPLY TO A
PERSON WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO POSSESS A HANDGUN UNDER STATE OR FEDERAL
LAW; CREATING THE OFFENSE OF CARRYING A FIREARM IN A PROHIBITED
PLACE, EXCLUDING PERSONS WITH VALID CONCEALED WEAPON PERMITS AND
SWORN PEACE OFFICERS; AND AMENDING SECTION 45-8-317 and 45-8-328,
MCA.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 45-8-317, MCA,
is amended to read:
"45-8-317. Exceptions. (1) Section
45-8-316 does not apply to:
(a) any peace officer of the state
of Montana or of another state who has the power to make arrests;
(b) any officer of the United
States government authorized to carry a concealed weapon;
(c) a person in actual service as a
member of the national guard;
(d) a person summoned to the aid of
any of the persons named in subsections (1)(a) through (1)(c);
(e) a civil officer or the
officer's deputy engaged in the discharge of official business;
(f) a probation and parole officer
authorized to carry a firearm under 46-23-1002;
(g) a person eligible to possess a handgun under state
or federal law, a person issued a permit under 45-8-321,
or or a person with a permit recognized under 45-8-329;
(h) an agent of the department of
justice or a criminal investigator in a county attorney's office;
(i) a person who is outside the
official boundaries of a city or town or the confines of a
logging, lumbering, mining, or railroad camp or who is lawfully
engaged in hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, hiking,
backpacking, farming, ranching, or other outdoor activity in which
weapons are often carried for recreation or protection; or
(j) the carrying of arms on one's
own premises or at one's home or place of business.
(2) With regard to a person issued
a permit under 45-8-321, the provisions of 45-8-328 do not apply
to this section."
Section 2. Section 45-8-328, MCA,
is amended to read:
45-8-328. Carrying concealed a weapon firearm in
prohibited place inside
city limits -- penalty. (1) A person commits the
offense of carrying a concealed weapon firearm in a
prohibited place if the person purposely or knowingly carries a
concealed weapon firearm inside the incorporated limits of a city or town
in:
(a) portions of a building used for state
or local government offices and related areas in the building that
have been restricted;
(b) a bank, credit union, savings and
loan institution, or similar institution during the institution's
normal business hours. It is not an offense under this section to
carry a concealed
weapon firearm
while:
(i) using an institution's drive-up
window, automatic teller machine, or unstaffed night depository;
or
(ii) at or near a branch office of an
institution in a mall, grocery store, or other place unless the
person is inside the enclosure used for the institution's
financial services or is using the institution's financial
services.
(c) a room in which alcoholic beverages
are sold, dispensed, and consumed under a license issued under
Title 16 for the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on
the premises.
(2) A It is not a defense that the person had who has a valid
permit to carry a concealed weapon or who is a sworn peace officer is exempt from [this
section]. A person convicted of the offense shall be
imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed 6 months or
fined an amount not to exceed $500, or both.
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