By Donya Parrish, MCU VP Risk Management

With Governor Gianforte signing HB 102 on Feb. 18, concealed weapons are no longer expressly prohibited in credit unions in Montana. That does not leave your branches without options to prohibit members from bringing in guns and other weapons.

Verbiage in the bill outlines that a “person with a current and valid [concealed carry] permit … may not be prohibited or restricted from exercising that permit anywhere in the state, except … (6)on private property where the owner, tenant, or lessee expressly prohibits firearms.”

Your credit union may already have signage at public entrances notifying members of weapons prohibitions to keep openly carried firearms out of the building. That became common after open carry was passed into law in 2009 in Montana.

If you do not have signage to prohibit open or concealed carry in your branches, your options for limiting members with weapons could be diminished. This is a good time to review any existing signage to see if it is in need of an update and to discuss with your team how you want any situations with weapons to be handled.

Employee policies will govern whether employees are allowed to bring weapons into branch buildings, so those should be reviewed too.