Montana lawmakers will consider closing domestic violence firearm loophole in 2027

In the 2027 legislative session, Montana lawmakers will consider a bill aimed at closing a loophole in state law that permits individuals convicted of domestic assault to purchase or possess firearms. 

The Criminal Justice Oversight Council at its meeting last week voted 9-to-7 to advance draft legislation strengthening Montana’s partner and family member assault law and clearly state that misdemeanor convictions can result in revocation of firearms possession. 

“I generally don’t support legislation that increases penalties, but I think that this is a real public safety issue,” said Rep. SJ Howell, a Democrat. “We hear about it every session. We hear about it every interim. We have Montanans who come in and tell really heartbreaking stories of their loved ones who’ve been murdered in situations like this, and I think this is an opportunity for us to really dig in and say, ‘Is there something we can do to actually prevent some of these violent crimes?’”

More than half of female homicide victims are killed by current or former male intimate partners, according to the National Institute of Health. Firearms are used in more than 50% of those homicides.

A federal law passed in 1994 prohibits individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from having firearms, but a loophole exists in Montana statute due to the difference in how state and federal statutes define domestic violence. 

Montana has more comprehensive laws protecting victims of domestic violence by allowing threats of violence or emotional injury to be enough for a conviction, a more stringent standard than federal law. 

In January 2025, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the mismatch in definitions means that the federal law prohibiting possession of a firearm didn’t apply to a conviction under Montana’s law. 

That opinion came from a federal district court case that convicted Michael B. DeFrance of possessing three guns after having been convicted of a misdemeanor for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Jermain Charlo. 

Charlo, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, has been missing since she was last seen in Missoula on June 16, 2018. DeFrance is not named as a suspect in her case. 

His charges were overturned in a ruling the three-judge panel called “absurd,” for having a weaker consequence stemming from a stronger state misdemeanor law. 

Last fall, the Criminal Justice Oversight Council drafted a letter to Montana’s federal delegation asking them to consider a congressional workaround to better align federal and state statutes, before forging ahead with drafting legislation for state lawmakers. 

Under the draft bill, which is likely to be carried by Democratic Sen. Laura Smith, a judge would have broader discretion to prohibit a convicted offender from possessing or purchasing a firearm, regardless of whether a gun was used in the assault. 

The bill would also change the state’s laws around unlawful possession of a firearm by adding the partner and family member assault misdemeanors to the list of convictions that prohibit owning a gun. 

Both sections would give the state broader ability to keep firearms away from individuals with domestic violence convictions without relying on the federal statute.  

Shantelle Gaynor, who works in the Missoula County Community Justice Department and serves as the council’s crime victims representative, voted to advance the draft legislation, saying it would help not only victims, but law enforcement. 

“Just as a reminder, it’s also quite important to law enforcement safety,” Gaynor said. “These are the kinds of calls that law enforcement are harmed by, especially when there are guns and a fact pattern that is showing escalating violence and disregard for law enforcement.”