It has been an honor and a privilege to represent Senate District 18, which includes Wibaux, Dawson, and Richland Counties in their entirety. Senate districts in Eastern Montana are going to change. As you know, in Montana we redistrict every ten years, and the redistricting committee consistently is comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans. It seems like Eastern Montana will get the short end of the stick, as our representation gets smaller because the districts get bigger.
There has been both rewarding and trying times, during my years in the Legislature. It takes 26 Senators, 51 Representatives and 1 Governor to pass a bill. So obviously, it takes some negotiating to pass a bill and sometimes that includes compromise, which I am not good at. My first two sessions in the legislature we passed through the house and the senate several important bills for freedom. We were disappointed when they were vetoed by the Governor. We were fortunate that you sent us a new Governor because we again passed some of the same bills through the house and senate and this time the Governor signed them. We had pro-life bills, 2nd Amendment bills, including a constitutional carry bill, bills that tighten the integrity of our elections, as well as bills to restrict the federal government from taking our freedoms, even when they declare an emergency, which became law. That is the good news.
The bad news is the third branch of government, the judicial branch, which is to interpret the law have become “woke” law makers. Entities, that are mostly funded by our tax dollars, are challenging the constitutionality of the majority of the bills that we made law and have found judges to agree with them. It is not unconstitutional to save a life, including babies. As the Declaration of Independence states, men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What is unconstitutional about each citizen bearing arms? The 2nd Amendment, in part, states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Elections are to be regulated by the state legislature, not the courts, as stated in the Montana Constitution, Article 4, Section 3. As far as Federal Government overreach the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution gives states power over the federal government in most cases.
I think we, as Montanans, need to be aware of this as we vote for judges and justices. Ask your candidates for these elected positions questions about the Constitution. And don’t let them cower out by saying “No comment.”
With this in mind, my wife and I are going to vote for James Brown for one of the Montana Supreme Court Justices. Please join us.
Senator
Steve Hinebauch
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