Whitefish woman challenges concealed carry law
A Whitefish woman has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of a state law that prohibits legal permanent residents from obtaining a concealed carry permit.
Lenka Knutson, 34, is a permanent U.S. resident who attempted to apply for a concealed carry permit through the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office in June 2014, but was denied because she is not a citizen. Per state law, Knutson is only allowed to carry a gun on her own property.
“Lenka would carry a loaded and functional concealed handgun in public in a concealed manner for self-defense, but refrains from doing so because she fears arrest, prosecution, fine, and imprisonment as she understands it is unlawful for a non-citizen to carry a concealed handgun in Montana,” the lawsuit states.
The 34-year-old mother of two is a citizen of Slovakia who resides in Whitefish with her husband and children. She received a permanent resident visa in 2005. She has worked as a bank teller supervisor in Whitefish since 2007.
She is joined in the suit by the Second Amendment Foundation Inc., a group based out of Bellevue, Washington, that has successfully argued for permanent residents to be allowed access to concealed carry permits in several other states.
Illinois-based attorney David Sigale is handling Knutson’s case and has handled the previous cases the Second Amendment Foundation was involved in.
“This is just a group of people being discriminated against for no reason,” Sigale said, adding that the issue is one where opinions on the hot-button issues of immigration and gun rights collide.
“What people need to understand is that the Supreme Court has said that lawful resident aliens have virtually the same constitutional rights as citizens,” Sigale said. “This is not a case about illegal immigrants. It is not about student visas. It is not about tourist visas. It is about one group of non-citizens who, to paraphrase the Supreme Court, who have demonstrated a strong connection to this country.”
The lawsuit is filed against the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, though it is aimed at the state’s law, and not local officials.
“The way that it works is that when someone is being deprived of their constitutional rights, you have to sue the official who actually deprived them,” Sigale said.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry had not been served with an official copy of the lawsuit as of Friday so he could not comment on it. He said his office processes thousands of concealed carry permits every year.
Sigale said that if the lawsuit is successful it would not just allow Knutson to get a concealed carry permit, but would also allow other permanent residents to apply for concealed carry permits in Montana.
Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.