Montana News

Gun-rights rally held in Helena

Posted: Jan 19, 2013 2:59 PM by Lindsey Gordon (Helena)

A small crowd of gun-rights supporters turned out on the Capitol steps in Helena on Saturday.

The event, which was mirrored in many other cities across the nation, was coordinated as part of "Gun Appreciation Day."

The rallies were sparked, in part, by recent gun-control measures introduced by President Obama and many lawmakers in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings.

On the Gun Appreciation Day website, gun-rights supporter Larry Ward wrote: "It is important that we demonstrate to the rest of the country and the world (as the world will be watching) that gun owners and advocates are peaceful, ordinary citizens who love our liberty."

MTN reporter Lindsey Gordon was at the Helena rally and will have a report on this evening's newscast.

(January 16, 2013) President Obama on Wednesday laid out a proposal aimed at reducing gun violence in America, a multi-part plan that he says will not only "help prevent mass shootings" but also to "reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country."

Speaking in the wake of several recent mass shootings, the president outlined a series of steps both political and administrative that he says would limit access to guns and certain types of ammunition, make mental health care more attainable, and increase federal funds for both research and law enforcement.

Among the initiatives outlined in Mr. Obama's plan:

- universal background checks for gun sales;

- reinstatement and strengthening of the assault weapons ban;

- capping ammunition magazines to a 10-round limit;

- banning armor-piercing ammunition;

- providing schools with resource officers and school counselors;

- putting more police officers on the streets;

- creating serious punishments for gun trafficking;

- ensuring that health insurance plans cover mental health benefits.