Montana Republican lawmakers are continuing efforts to expand protections for access to firearms.
House Bill 356 would prohibit state entities from contracting with companies that have adopted policies that limit dealings with the firearms industry.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Brandon Ler of Savage, calls those policies discriminatory.
“What this bill does do is it protects all of us in this body, our constitutional rights,” he said.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen supports the policy and has criticized financial corporations Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase for denying firearms businesses their services.
The proposal comes after the Legislature’s Republican majority passed into law an expansion of concealed carry in Montana last session.
The bill advanced in the Montana House of Representatives on a near party-line vote, with Republicans in support and Democrats in opposition.
Democratic Rep. Eric Matthews of Bozeman said the state should make financial decisions based on dollars and cents, not politics.
“This is not the place to put an ideological test," Matthews said.
The bill is likely to clear a final vote in the House on Thursday and head to the state Senate for consideration.
