You’ve got to hand it to Montana, a state that isn’t afraid to stand up to federal authority. A number of years ago, when Washington warned Maine that its coyote snaring program might endanger lynx and trigger a lawsuit, we immediately capitulated. Our fish and wildlife commissioner, in response to the mere specter of a lawsuit, suspended Maine’s longtime coyote control program.

Montana, faced with an identical situation and a federal warning, did just the opposite. Unbowed by the threat from Washington, Montana, in effect, told the feds to take a hike. It continued its snaring program and the sky has not fallen in Big Sky Country.

Once again, Montana has, to its everlasting credit, challenged federal authority. The issue this time is gun regulation.

Gary Marbutt, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, and his organization, championed a new, soon-to-be controversial state law called the Montana-made guns bill. It is now on the books, and it basically asserts that all guns and ammunition manufactured in Montana are exempt from any form of federal regulation. The Montana law claims these states rights by virtue of the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which has come to be known as the “commerce clause.” The 10th Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”

Most political observers agree that this move by Montana is revolutionary. What you have is a state defying the federal government and its gun laws. Unless the Montana legislature enacts “corrective” legislation, guns made in Montana will require no registration, serial numbers, criminal records checks, waiting periods or other paperwork.

What’s going to happen? One gun-rights writer put it this way, “This will prompt a showdown between the federal government and the state of Montana. The fed, if it takes them on, risks them saying that the federal agents have no right to violate their state gun laws and arrests the federal agents that try to enforce the federal firearms acts. This will be a world-class event to watch.”

Marbutt told me that Montana is challenging the “commerce clause authority of the Feds.” The issue over the years has been adjudicated by different courts with varying outcomes. The Montana man says that he fully expects a court challenge from the federal government.

This is a fascinating Constitutional issue with a reach that extends far beyond gun regulations. Marbutt, who makes no bones about the fact that he is a solid states-rights advocate who appreciates the broader historical implications of HR 246, said, “We used this as an example to challenge federal commerce clause authority. If it sticks in court, there will be other issues spinning out of it.”

He is right. The possibilities are endless, and a delight to contemplate in this era of federal domination and dictation over all aspects of our lives.

Before you write this all off as a bunch of parochial, gun-toting cowboys living in the past, consider this: A number of other states, including Texas, Alaska and Tennessee, are debating similar legislation. According to Marbutt, “clones are being prepared in Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Washington.” He adds, “This 10th Amendment assertion idea is going viral.”

As Marbutt points out, the more states that follow Montana’s example, the better his state’s chances in court. “Judges are swayed by an emerging consensus, which is judicial speak for the peasants are at the gates with pitchforks and torches.”

Will Maine be one of the courageous states to pick up the cudgel and join Montana’s quiet revolution? I wouldn’t bet on it if I were you.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].