By MATT GOURAS - Associated Press Writer - 01/28/06
HELENA - Hundreds of felons on parole or probation who are barred
from having guns are getting hunting licenses in Montana with no
questions asked, an Associated Press investigation has found.
Montana may not be alone. While nearly all states ban felons from
possessing guns, only a handful have specific laws prohibiting them
from receiving hunting permits, and even fewer have any means of
checking to see if applicants are banned from hunting or carrying a
firearm.
‘‘Our license dealers have no way of checking,’’ said Lt. Rich
Mann, with the enforcement program for the Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife. ‘‘If someone wants to play with the system and beat
you at it, they will.’’
The AP examination of Montana hunting and corrections records
indicates at least 660 felons on parole or probation received tags in
the past year that would allow them to hunt with rifles or shotguns.
The licenses don’t specifically require the use of firearms, and
state officials note that many of the hunters could legally be using
other weapons, such as bows. Several of those contacted by the AP said
they hunted legally with bows while on probation.
The findings are based on a comparison of unique first, middle and
last names, along with other identifiable information, that appeared
in both databases. Comparisons by birth dates and Social Security
numbers, which would prove more conclusive, were not possible because
of restrictions on the release of such information. The AP threw out
160 names because they were either too common or appeared to be
duplicated in the hunting database.
A state probation official said the findings likely would prompt
the state to consider its own similar records search to see if
parolees are violating terms of their release and crack down on those
who are.
‘‘Obviously that’s a big concern, and it makes me want to look into
each of these cases,’’ said Ron Alsbury, Montana probation and parole
bureau chief.
Alsbury said state probation officers always warn those with felony
convictions who are being paroled or put on probation that they are
forbidden to handle guns. Most, however, are not restricted from using
other weapons to hunt.
Jason Beaudoin of Frenchtown, who is on probation for a 2002
conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, got a series of hunting
tags last year, but said he used only a bow and arrow when he to took
to the field.
‘‘I know I can’t own a firearm or be in possession of one. They
made that very clear ... and I agree with the policy,’’ Beaudoin said.
But probation officials also made it clear the restriction didn’t
extend to the use of bows, he said.
‘‘There are plenty of ways people can hunt even though they are
barred from using conventional weapons,’’ added Gary S. Marbut,
president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association. ‘‘My guess is
that there are a lot of them that are being perfectly decent
citizens.’’
The problem is, no one knows for certain.
Some states, including Montana, check for past hunting violations
as a routine part of a hunting license application, but don’t run spot
checks to see if convicted felons are among those applying for
licenses or if they are planning to use firearms.
‘‘The result in Idaho is that you could theoretically be a
convicted cannibal and still have a hunting license,’’ said Ed
Mitchell, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in
Boise. ‘‘But if you are a convicted cannibal, you cannot legally own a
bent BB gun in the state of Idaho.’’
In North Dakota, officials even check to make sure hunters aren’t
delinquent on their child support, and deny permits to those who are.
But they can’t check for felonies.
Colorado, like most states, relies on its state law banning felons
from possessing guns to discourage them from applying for hunting
licenses.
‘‘In other words, they can buy the hunting license but they cannot
legally be out in the field hunting’’ with a firearm, said Bob
Thompson, assistant chief of law enforcement for the Colorado Division
of Wildlife.
He said that every year state game wardens find someone with a
felony conviction hunting with a firearm and a legally obtained
hunting license. Florida officials said they’ve even had a game
officer killed by a felon who was hunting with a gun.
Many state authorities say it simply would be too difficult to
check if felons are getting hunting tags.
‘‘We have no way of knowing if they were a convicted felon, or
whether they were telling the truth if they said they weren’t one,’’
said Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection.
The AP analyzed information from 268,254 Montana resident hunting
license holders from the past year and 8,732 people under the
supervision of the Department of Corrections. Matches were narrowed
down to those holding tags allowing guns to be used.
The AP review found that roughly 8 percent of those on parole or
probation with the state had obtained such licenses in the past year.
Some examples:
n A Stevensville man on probation for shooting a man in the neck
during an argument holds deer, elk, migratory bird, upland bird and
antelope tags.
n A Butte man, on probation for pointing a rifle at a woman, has a
deer tag.
Efforts to reach them by phone were unsuccessful. Many hunters with
felony convictions had no listed phone numbers, while others did not
return telephone calls seeking comment.
In some rare cases the state even automatically gave hunting
licenses to felons.
One convicted felon contacted by the AP, Larry Pettijohn, wasn’t
aware he held a bird hunting license. The state gave him the license
for free because he qualified for it as a senior citizen who had
purchased a state conservation license, the base permit for both
hunters and anglers.
‘‘All I ever do is fish,’’ said Pettijohn of Missoula, on parole
for felony drunken driving and being a persistent felon. ‘‘I don’t
have a gun. Not allowed to.’’
One case made national news late last year when one of the hunters
with a prized tag for Montana’s limited and controversial bison hunt
turned out to be on parole or probation for a felony. He gave up his
hunting tags before the season started.
Montana has looser gun laws for felons than some other states. Some
states have lifetime gun bans for felons. Others require felons to
petition a judge or the governor for restoration of gun rights. In
Montana, gun rights are automatically restored to most felons with
state convictions once they complete their sentences.
Alsbury said his agency did a spot check of its records about five
years ago to see if violators had hunting tags. Officers confiscated
some guns.
Alsbury said the AP investigation suggests it may be time for the
state to search again.
‘‘With the technology we have now we should be routinely checking
that,’’ he said.
On the Net:
Montana felons:
http://app.mt.gov/conweb/
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks:
http://www.fwp.mt.gov
