Bring Your Gun to Work Bill

It's not that often that business groups get involved in bills involving firearms, but Representative Krayton Kerns (District 58 - Laurel) has a bill that has raised the concerns of many employers and businesses.

HB 228 contains a lot that has nothing to do with business, but it does contain the following section:

"NEW SECTION.  Section 9.  Employer prohibition of means of self-defense. (1) An employer who as a condition of employment prohibits an employee from possessing the means of defending the employee in the workplace, including the possession of firearms, shall provide a level of security and safety for the employee equal to that which the employee could have provided without the prohibition. An employer who violates this requirement is liable for injury to the employee caused by a criminal act against the employee at the workplace if the injury would not have occurred but for the employer's prohibition. This subsection does not apply to an employee of the government of the United States or of a school district of this state. (2) An employer may not prohibit an employee from keeping a firearm in a vehicle owned by the employee and parked at the workplace."

Employers have an obligation already to provide a safe workplace for their employees and customers. With that in mind, some employers both large and small have made the decision already to ban firearms on their property. This safety obligation is not the only issue. We believe businesses and employers have private property rights that could be at stake here as well, especially in section 2.  

If this language passes, all of those businesses would have to do some kind of evaluation about what level of protection is similar to an employee carrying a gun. If you have an employee that is a good shot, you may need to hire a former FBI sharpshooter as a security guard in order to avoid a lawsuit.

I would venture to say that most Montana business owners are very pro-gun. They don't see this as a gun rights issue, however - its a safety in the workplace issue and a property rights issue. I could go on and on about the potential impacts of such language, but my time is better spent trying to amend the bill. We would obviously prefer if the sponsor would remove section 9, and let the debate go forward on the other portions of the bill.

Comments

[Joe Large]

The comment about businesses needing to hire ex FBI sharpshooters is just foolish. First of all, the bill does not give employees the right to CARRY a gun at work, just to have it in their car. SOmething by the way that montana law says is legal anywhere in the state as long as you have the right to possess the gun!

This kink of overreaction is typical and common anytime a gun bill is suggested or passes and never has there been any precedence for these fears to exist!