One would be hard put to find a Montana politician who doesn't defend the Second Amendment's guarantee of the right to bear arms. In this state, any politician who failed to pass that simple test probably didn't want to get elected anyway.

But you couldn't tell that fact from the partisan rhetoric coming out the Capitol the last couple of weeks. The fight started when Democrats who voted against a bill designed to make it easier for people to defend themselves with deadly force were accused of being anti-gun in flyers distributed in their districts by the Republican Party. GOP leaders in the Legislature were quick to denounce the tactic as unbecoming during a session, but that didn't stop the accusations.

Last Saturday Rep. Jack Wells, R-Bozeman, commented that "the Democrats ... apparently don't support gun rights." That brought a hot rejoinder from Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman, who called Wells "anti-law enforcement" and said the bill was a bad idea from a "crazy fringe outfit."

It seems to us the bill is a sincere attempt to bolster citizens' rights, but the fact is that law enforcement personnel and prosecutors are united in their opposition, saying it would lead to a "make my day" kind of society and give criminals a spurious line of defense by claiming self-protection. Besides, Montanans already have the right to defend themselves.

Lawmakers who take the law enforcement community's alarm to heart are better characterized as being pro-safety, rather than anti-gun, and we suspect most Montana sportsmen understand that regardless of how they feel about the bill.