Montana State Law Summary

Posted on January 2, 2012

Last updated April 20, 2012

In our publication Gun Laws Matter 2012: Understanding the Link Between Weak Laws and Gun Violence, the Law Center ranked each state based on a review of state laws in 29 different firearms-related policy areas. Montana ranked 45th out of 50 – having some of the weakest guns laws in the country. Among other things, Montana does not:

Require a background check prior to the transfer of a firearm between private parties;
Prohibit the transfer or possession of assault weapons, 50 caliber rifles, or large capacity ammunition magazines;
License or significantly regulate firearms dealers;
Limit the number of firearms that may be purchased at one time;
Regulate unsafe handguns;
Require the licensing of gun owners; or
Impose registration requirements on firearms.

Local governments in Montana generally lack authority to regulate firearms and ammunition, and Montana requires that local law enforcement issue a concealed weapons license to any applicant who meets certain basic qualifications.

Montana ranks 5th among the states in number of gun deaths per capita. In 2009, 166 people died from firearm-related injuries in Montana. That year, Montana supplied the 14th highest number of crime guns to other states per capita, and the state exports more crime guns than it imports.