Mont. Shooting Sports Ass'n v. Holder, No. 10-36094 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment that Congress has no power to regulate the activities contemplated by the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, Mont. Code Ann. 30-20-104, and injunctive relief preventing the federal government from bringing civil or criminal actions under federal firearms law against Montana citizens acting in compliance with the Act. The court concluded that Plaintiff Gary Marbut alleged economic injury sufficient for standing. On the merits, Congress could have rationally concluded that the manufacture of unlicensed firearms, even if initially sold only within the State of Montana, would in the aggregate substantially affect the interstate market for firearms. Under Gonzales v. Raich and United States v. Stewart, that was enough to place the rifle Marbut wished to manufacture and sell within reach of the long arm of federal law. Because the Act purported to dictate to the contrary, it was necessarily preempted and invalid. Accordingly, the court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal, for failure to state a claim, of an action brought by Gary Marbut, the Montana Shooting Sports Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation challenging federal firearms regulations. Plaintiff Marbut sought to manufacture firearms under the Montana Firearms Freedom Act (MFFA), state legislation that declared that the manufacture and sale of certain firearms within the state was beyond the scope of Congress’s commerce power. The panel first held that Marbut had standing on account of economic injury. The panel then held that the complaint failed to state a claim in light of Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005), and United States v. Stewart, 451 F.3d 1071 (9th Cir. 2006), and that Congress could rationally conclude that unlicensed firearms made in Montana would make their way into the interstate market. The panel held that the MFFA was necessarily preempted and invalid. Concurring in part and dissenting in part, Jude Bea agreed with the majority’s conclusion that Marbut was subject to federal licensing laws. He stated that it was unnecessary for the majority to hold that the MFFA was preempted by federal law.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.