Marbut Flirts with the Racist Right in Jubilee.
Gary Marbut, the director of the Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) and a candidate for the state legislature, has been associated with the Militia of Montana (MOM) for quite a while. He frequently posts items on MOM's e-mail list, and many of the issues MSSA covers are similar to those of MOM. However, it appears that Marbut is branching out into other sectors of the militia movement, and he may be starting a foray into the hard-core white supremacist movement.
One of Marbut's columns appeared in the January/February issues of The Jubilee. The Jubilee is a white supremacist newspaper which caters to Christian Identity followers. Christian Identity, based on a racist interpretation of the Bible, holds that Jews are the literal children of Satan, and people of color are subhuman "mud people."
Attributed to the Sierra Times, Marbut's article is about Montana rejecting the Gun Free School Zones Act -- the federal law that made it a criminal offense to travel within 1,000 feet of a school while possessing a firearm. Marbut claims the MSSA drafted a successful bill declaring that the Montana Constitution guarantees the right to keep and bear arms to all law-abiding adults thus exempting them from the federal law. Marbut writes that "the people of Montana remain protected from the silliness of the Congressional act by the intervention of the Montana Legislature." He also said the new law "pulls the rug out from under any would-be federal prosecution."
In February, a column by Marbut was published by the Sierra Times. Based in Nevada, the Sierra Times is the newest project of long-time militia activist J.J. Johnson. In the mid 1990s, Johnson was a regular in militia circles. He was the main force behind the Ohio Unorganized Militia, and, since he is African American, the militia movement uses him to deflect charges of racism. Along with MOM's John Trochmann, Johnson testified before a congressional subcommittee on the militia movement in 1995. Since moving to Nevada, Johnson had been fairly quiet until he started Sierra Times. The newspaper contains articles on right-wing issues and has been covering the Jarbidge Rebellion very closely. The rebellion stems from the Elko County Commission in Nevada trying to rebuild a road that is under U.S. Forest Service jurisdiction. Because of the anti-government theme, "patriots" have adopted and supported the commission's efforts.
In his editorial, Marbut railed against the federal government. He claimed that government wants its citizens to remain, "Îstabable,' Îshootable', Îbeatable', Îrobable', and, of course, Îrapeable.'" Speaking to patriots, he said, "responsible people slyly steal mission and power from government and from all of its employees." He claims gun-control advocates are "willing to pour out the blood of slain real people onto the alter of their social agenda" and want to fulfill "their own selfish urges to power and to an unreachable and undesirable utopia."
Recently, MSSA announced the Secretary of State approved Initiative 141 which would allow people to obtain hunting licenses without social security numbers. MSSA is now collecting signatures. In a press release, Marbut said I-141 gives Montanans "an alternative to being victimized by a legislature that has sold our personal privacy for federal money."