As of Thursday, April 8, 2021, Montana reports 105,750 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 232 new cases reported in the last day: 95 in Gallatin County, 35 in Cascade County, 20 in Missoula County, 17 in Ravalli County, 14 in Flathead County, and more new cases in 15 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,005. Currently, 40 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin County and Yellowstone County. 1,494 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Twelve more deaths have been reported in the last day. Nationwide, more than 559,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 31,000,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

President Joe Biden unveiled actions Thursday that seek to address a scourge of gun violence he said are a “blemish on the nation. Gun violence in this country is an epidemic,” Biden said. “And it’s an international embarrassment.” The executive actions — which Biden says did nothing to impinge on the Second Amendment right to bear arms — include efforts to restrict weapons known as “ghost guns” that can be built using parts and instructions purchased online. The moves are limited in scope and fall short of the steps Biden has vowed to pressure Congress to take. Still, they fulfilled the president’s pledge last month to take “common-sense” steps on his own. One action in particular — more heavily regulating arm braces used to make firing a pistol more accurate — directly relates to the March shooting in Boulder, Colorado, where such a device was used.

In an era marred by gun violence, the Montana University System is looking to neighboring states and public input as it prepares to allow concealed carry of firearms on campus. The new firearm carry law, signed by Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Feb. 18, will go into effect on Montana’s campuses June 1, leaving the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education with a narrow window to collect public input, draft a policy and present its findings to the Board of Regents during next month’s meeting. The law expands where people can carry a concealed weapon, including allowing those without a permit to carry a concealed firearm in most public settings, including banks and bars. Those with a permit will be able to carry a concealed firearm in state and local government offices. The law requires no training for a person to carry a concealed firearm. The new law also limits the power of the Board of Regents to place restrictions on firearms on the university system’s campuses. When the bill was introduced, legal staff said the bill could be unconstitutional; the Montana Constitution says the Board of Regents shall “have full power, responsibility and authority to supervise, coordinate, manage and control the Montana university system.” The Board of Regents’ previous policy had been to ban firearms on campus except for those carried by law enforcement, while providing secure storage lockers for people to store their guns on campus. To curry favor with the university system, the House passed an additional $1 million in funding for the “full implementation of open and concealed firearms” on campuses…if the university system does not bring suit against the state about the bill.