Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was forced to come out yesterday and plead with fellow Republicans to be more "circumspect" when they talk about guns.
"It's not helpful" for GOP lawmakers to be speaking publicly about some of their ideas right now, he said. Boehner's pleading is a little late. In the wake of the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, several GOP lawmakers are now calling forarming teachers as a way to prevent mass shootings
Bringing guns into schools is also a pet project of Montana Republicans. Just last session, Republicans in the Montana legislature pushed a bill to allow guns in schools (House Bill 558).
And who could forget the fundamentalist Christian school in Montana that decided to raffle off a semi-automatic assault rifle as a school fundraiser this fall. You can see their add in the local papers for the assault rifle here.
Stillwater Christian School obtained the assault rifle came from the NEMO rifle plant. Family members of former gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill’s running mate Jon Sonju are NEMO executives.
In addition to bidding on the assault rifle, you could also attend the schools “Stillwater Shootout” fundraising event down at the shooting range in Kalispell, MT.
School officials said they didn't see a problem raising money with a semi-automatic assault rifle raffle. Rather, they called it "sports-minded and fun."
This Christian private school doesn't just work to instill these beliefs into the young minds of school children, it also gets involved in elections. This year, school leaders sent out an email before the primary urging GOP primary voters to oppose non-TEA Party candidates.
With the hard-right wing of the GOP now calling the shots, its hardly surprising that GOP legislators didn't just stop with their bill to allow guns in schools. Montana Republicans also tried to pass new laws last session to:
Lift the prohibition on carrying concealed weapons in bars, churches, banks, and government buildings. (House Bill 384)
Create fully-armed militia in every town (House Bill 278)
Allow anybody to carry a concealed weapon around without a permit. (House Bill 271)
Force employers to allow employees to bring guns to work in their cars. (House Bill 368)
Legalize hunting with silencers (House Bill 174)
And when they ran out of gun bill ideas, they tried to legalize hunting with hand-thrown spears (Senate Bill 112)
This is not a joke. These were real bills put forward by Republicans in the Montana legislature, unencumbered by common sense. Republicans can't say the public has no reason to fear their proposals when they seem to fear open debate of what they truly believe.
This diary is cross-posted at theMontana Cowgirl Blog.