Daines, Zinke blast Obama on gun rules

The two Republicans in Montana's congressional delegation condemned President Barack Obama's executive action on gun control Tuesday, decrying the move as unconstitutional.

Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines deemed the president's executive decision "a power grab that threatens the constitutional rights of law abiding Americans."

"It's a gross abuse of executive authority for the president to unilaterally move forward his ineffective, anti-gun agenda with the stroke of his pen," Daines said in a press release.

On his office's Facebook page, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., denounced the proposed actions, describing Obama's record on the Constitution and the Second Amendment as "tyrannical."

"Barack Obama is president and not a king," Zinke said. "Congress has already spoken and voted against these types of unconstitutional gun grabs."

The state's lone Democrat in Congress, Sen. Jon Tester, a self-described gun owner, tried to strike a balance between reassuring Montanans that he is committed to protecting the rights of gun owners, while blaming Congress for not acting legislatively.

"Unfortunately, this announcement speaks to the dysfunction of Congress and its failure to tackle tough issues," Tester said in a press release. "I'm looking closely at this to make sure that it doesn't infringe on our Second Amendment rights or erode our western values while also protecting us from folks who want to do us harm."

Gov. Steve Bullock, also a Democrat, struck a similar tone in a statement from his office.

"I have and always will be a defender of our Second Amendment rights. It is my duty to protect that freedom," Bullock said. "I also support using some common sense when we talk about guns, and I think our country needs to have a discussion about things like gun safety, mental health screening, and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals."

However, he said that the discussion was "far too important to circumvent Congress with the stroke of a pen."

Denise Juneau, Montana superintendent of public instruction and a Democrat seeking to unseat Zinke in his bid for re-election in November, criticized Congress, but came out openly in support of efforts to beef up background checks.

"Criminal background checks won't stop every crime, but they will reduce crime by making it harder for criminals to get guns while protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens," Juneau said.