A measure under consideration in the Montana legislature would financially help those who use a firearm for self-defense and are later charged for doing so.
According to an alert from Gun Owners of America (GOA), Republican State Sen. Theresa Manzella has brought back legislation that would reimburse citizens who are forced to defend themselves in court against criminal charges brought by politically motivated district attorneys who maliciously prosecute citizens for exercising their God-given right to preserve life with arms.
The measure is Senate Bill 127, and GOA strongly supports it, urging members in The Treasure State to contact their lawmakers and ask for their support. Unfortunately, both the Montana County Attorneys Association and the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association have expressed opposition to the bill.
“These corrupt, left-leaning political unions are putting significant pressure on legislators to kill S.B. 127,” GOA wrote in the alert. “We must let those weak legislators know that ‘We the People’ demand that they secure our rights against such usurpations.”
According to GOA, the changing nature of some courts as they relate to armed self-defense is a good reason for lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 127.
“The weaponization of the courts has reared its sullen face in self-defense cases across the nation,” GOA said. “Most notably, one can call to mind the recent high-profile cases that involved Kyle Rittenhouse and Daniel Penny.
“In the wake of these national cases, one is beginning to witness a disturbing trend within the Leftist-dominated judiciary and the enforcement agents of the executive branch. Urban areas within most states have now witnessed these types of malicious prosecutions.”
The measure states: “When a defendant successfully raises and argues the affirmative defense of justifiable use of force in the defense of a charge of a forcible felony in which the defendant is not convicted for any reason, the defendant is entitled to reimbursement of the defendant’s out-of-pocket costs, attorney fees and costs for the specific forcible felony that did not result in a conviction. Reimbursement under subsection (1)(a) must be paid out of the budget used by the prosecutor or the prosecutor’s employer to pay for the trial of the charge that did not result in a conviction.”
According to GOA, that’s exactly what is needed to protect those who are forced to defend themselves from weaponized prosecutors.
“Simply put, the bill strengthens the legal protection for individuals who are compelled, through no fault of their own, into a position of having to exercise their God-given right to defend their life, liberty and property with arms,” GOA concluded. “The passage of S.B. 127 will help to ensure that the citizens of Montana have the most robust protection for the right to defend life afforded under our positive law system, as well as a mechanism for judicial relief when that right is violated by a government official.”
