Back to News
October 22, 2024
NSSF PROFILE Q&A: Montana Governor Greg Gianforte
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to post the latest of our occasional Q&A features with an elected official who supports hunting and the shooting sports. NSSF thanks Montana Governor Greg Gianforte for speaking with us about his staunch support for the Second Amendment and the importance of the firearm and ammunition industry. Gov. Gianforte is running for reelection to his second term as governor. Prior to his first term as the state’s top executive, the governor served as Montana’s at-large U.S. Representative in Congress until 2020, when he ran for governor. Gov. Gianforte has attended NSSF’s SHOT Show® since becoming the state’s top executive to lure firearm and ammunition companies to relocate their businesses to Montana, an effort that has been successful.
1) Who introduced you to hunting and the shooting sports, and why are hunting and the shooting sports important to you in your job as Montana’s top executive?
I grew up fishing, but I started hunting about 30 years ago. As a Montanan, hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation – these aren’t just activities we pursue, it’s really our identity. It’s who we are. That’s why Montanans are so passionate about these activities. It’s a way of life.
2) What was your most recent shooting sports/hunting experience?
I buy an over-the-counter bighorn sheep tag every year, I have for the last four years. I spend a number of days in early September pursuing bighorn sheep. I’ve never connected, but you know – it’s awesome just being in the great outdoors. This year was no different. I spend four or five days looking for sheep. I saw a lot of elk and antelope and blue grouse. I’ve seen the sheep in the hunting district the week before the hunting season started and a couple weeks after but I’ve yet to find one during the hunting season. Maybe it’s just an excuse to take my rifle for a walk each September. It’s really good to be out [in nature].
3) Describe your favorite shooting sports or hunting activity.
I love pursuing big game. One of the great things about Montana is that, as a resident, we can hunt big game eleven out of twelve months. The only month we can’t hunt big game is July but I’m not really particular – any excuse to get me into the woods is a good excuse.
4) Which piece of pending legislation in Montana related to the conservation, hunting and the firearm industry is particularly important to you and why? Or what is your next priority for protecting the Second Amendment rights on Montanans?
We’ve passed a lot of pro-hunter, pro-outdoor recreation legislation since I’ve been in office. Related to conservation and the firearm industry, access is really critical and that’s why we’ve prioritized access to public lands. We’ve opened up access to over 100,000 acres of public lands since I came into office. We have a wonderful program in Montana called Block Management, which encourages private landowners to allow public access. We doubled the payments to private landowners and this encouraged more landowners to participate. We’ve also been pursuing more conservation leases on private land. We just signed leases on 50,000 acres all available for public access while preserving that land in production agriculture.
In terms of the firearm industry, I’ve made the state a concealed carry state. We passed a law that says our local law enforcement does not have to enforce unconstitutional federal gun bans. We’re home to more firearm and ammunition manufacturers per capita than any other state in the country. That’s part of our heritage. And we passed a law in Montana that makes it illegal to discriminate against firearm companies in the providing of banking services. If they discriminate based on industry, we’ll yank their banking license and they can’t operate here.
5) What do you see as the challenges and opportunities in Montana, or more broadly the country, for hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts?
Going forward, I think one of the biggest challenges that we have are the [anti-hunting groups] who just don’t want any [hunting]. But we know that hunting is conservation. We have healthy wildlife populations in large part because of hunting. Hunters are conservationists. This is why one of the unique programs I kicked off in our state is a youth hunting story contest. This is our third year, and we encourage our youth hunters aged 10 to 17, to get a license, go harvest something – could be a deer, elk, turkey, could be a gopher or a duck, it doesn’t matter. It’s not about the trophy. It’s about the experience. They submit a picture along with a couple paragraphs about the experience. How they used grandpa’s rifle or about how dad took ‘em in the field, or what mom did to come to camp, or the meals they packed. We particularly honor fair chase hunting and public land hunts. We had over 400 applicants last year. And the industry has really responded. We tricked these kids out with boots, backpacks and all kinds of swag. We invite them to the capital along with their families and we have a big wild game feed. We honor this awesome hunting heritage we have in this country. And we encourage the next generation to get involved in hunting. There’s always more we could do but getting that next generation of hunters involved is really critical to the future of our way of life.
You may also be interested in:
Categories: BP Item, Featured, Government Relations, Hunting, Top Stories
25650
