HELENA — The Senate Judiciary Committee has tabled a bill that originally created a gun safety program for Montana public schools and set fines for those who didn’t properly secure a gun used by a child in an act of violence.
The vote to table House Bill 477 Thursday was 6-4 on party lines.
Lee Newspapers of Montana reports that the motion to table the bill was made by Sen. Jennifer Fielder, a Republican from Thompson Falls.
Fielder says she made the motion to table because she felt the bill had become more of a political message after it was amended in the House.
The group Helena Youth Against Gun Violence, which worked to bring the bill, said in a tweet Thursday it was disappointed with the vote.