HELENA — Under current Montana law, the winner of a duel may be responsible for supporting the family of their slain opponent.
Even though killing someone, in a duel or not, is illegal, that code from 1895 is still on the books. House Bill 247 would repeal it.
Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Colombia Falls, is carrying the bill, which passed the House Wednesday and now moves to the Senate.
“This wasn’t a bill I thought I’d be bringing this session but after working with the Lieutenant Governor on more serious red-tape relief bills, she mentioned this outdated section of code from 1895 and asked if I would carry this for her office,” Mitchell said.
Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras said in a committee meeting for the bill last week that the old law sort of implies dueling is legal.
“We review the code on a systematic basis to identify outdated, unnecessary statutes and this was a fun one that came to our attention,” Juras said.
Juras and the governor’s office have made revising outdated or overcomplicated laws a focal point this session.
Juras said the dueling portion of the Montana Code was last updated in 2009 to make the law, along with the rest of the Montana Code, gender-neutral. The change made it so damages would apply if a spouse of any gender were killed or injured in a duel.
Clayton Murphy is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. Murphy can be reached at clayton.murphy@umconnect.umt.edu.
