by Jim Hajny, Executive Director
August 5, 2025
When I first got involved with mental health advocacy in 2009, we were urging the legislature to address the broken mental health system. In 2025 advocates are still urging the legislature to address the broken mental health system in Montana. Back then we had funding for a community-based crisis system. We had twice as many crisis beds available, and we had a psychiatric hospital that encouraged and promoted mental health recovery. Today we do not have sustainable funding for statewide crisis services, we have less crisis beds, and we do not follow national standards for Montana State Hospital or for crisis response in Montana. In 2022 Montana lost its federal funding for Montana State Hospital because it repeatedly failed to meet minimum federal standards for health and safety. I would also include the increase in unhoused individuals in nearly every community in our state, many of whom have a mental health diagnosis. From 2007 to 2023 the increase was 89%, second highest in the nation according to the 2023 Annual AHAR Report to Congress. Data also shows Montana continues to lead the nation in suicides per capita. Gun ownership in Montana is one of the highest in the nation, depending on which data source you look at. Ammo.com reports Montana as the highest with 66.3%, the national average is 46%. Red flag laws (Extreme Risk Protection Orders or ERPO) allow county attorneys to petition a court to prevent someone with a severe mental illness from possessing a firearm. A sort of warning system when someone is not well. There is federal funding to support red flags laws if state chooses to enact it. Montana does not. On May 8, 2025, Governor Greg Gianforte signed an anti-red flag law. We are only one of few states who have such laws. There is fear that this will lead to the “taking away of everyone’s guns” which is a second amendment right. Which could be argued and may have some merit. But that’s for another article. My own conclusion is that Montana is moving backwards in addressing our broken mental health system.
There are individuals who will say we have increased our funding annually to DPHHS, we have a $300 million dollar allocation of funds, we had community hearings. We have plans to build new psychiatric facilities to better serve Montanans. We are surveying providers; we even gave them a raise in reimbursement rates. Look what we have done!
The United States Secret Service 2023 report on mass shootings is intended to provide critical information to a cross-sector of community organizations that have a role in preventing these types of tragedies. Among the report’s key findings:
- Most of the attackers had exhibited behavior that elicited concern in family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and others, and in many cases, those individuals feared for the safety of themselves or others.
- Many attackers had a history of physically aggressive or intimidating behaviors, evidenced by prior violent criminal arrests/charges, domestic violence, or other acts of violence toward others.
- Half of the attackers were motivated by grievances, and were retaliating for perceived wrongs related to personal, domestic, or workplace issues.
- Most of the attackers used firearms, and many of those firearms were possessed illegally at the time of the attack.
- One-quarter of the attackers subscribed to a belief system involving conspiracies or hateful ideologies, including anti-government, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic views.
- Many attackers experienced stressful events across various life domains, including family/romantic relationships, personal issues, employment, and legal issues. In some of these cases, attackers experienced a specific triggering event prior to perpetrating the attack.
- Over half of the attackers experienced mental health symptoms prior to or at the time of their attacks, including depression, psychotic symptoms, and suicidal thoughts.
The avoidable tragedy in Anaconda (which does qualify as a mass shooting), according to reports, checks most of the findings in the secret service report such as gun ownership, mental illness, and warning signs from those who knew the shooter. “Everyone in the community plays a role in violence prevention,” said National Threat Assessment Center Chief Dr. Lina Alathari. “The latest NTAC report provides an unprecedented analysis to support our public safety partners and affirms that targeted violence is preventable if communities have the right information and resources to recognize warning signs and intervene.” Currently in Montana if an individual is not an “imminent threat” to self or others there is largely nothing law enforcement can do. They do not have the power to arrest the individual for having a mental illness. In Illinois the law states that involuntary admission to a psychiatric facility prohibits the individual from possessing a firearm. The court decides how long this is for depending on circumstances. Montana does not have such a law. What we do have is an emergency hold law. If an individual is in a mental health crisis they can be taken into protective custody on a 72 hour hold so a mental health professional can evaluate them. Again, they must be an “imminent threat” to self or others. If it is not imminent, they are released. If the individual is determined to be imminent, then a facility with an open bed has to be located. Montana lost 50% of its crisis beds during the COVID pandemic, making locating a bed much more difficult. The state of Montana has not taken action to replace those lost beds in the last 5 years. The threat assessment chief said it correctly, “everyone in the community plays a role.”
The Dilemma
In this article I have tried to outline as simply as I can the challenges we face in Montana around mass shootings, gun ownership and mental health care. As an advocate I have had numerous conversations over the years and have even presented possible solutions mostly which have fallen on deaf ears. This avoidable tragedy in Anaconda is preventable. The real question here is how does society balance individual rights related to health conditions such as mental illness with Constitutional rights such as gun ownership. How do we find a balance with public safety. How do we come together to address the broken mental health system in Montana providing more options for the individual, law enforcement, behavioral health professionals, families and communities. How do we stop taking sides and work towards solutions. This is the dilemma we find ourselves in. Everyone wants their way to be right instead of finding common ground, such as improved mental health care balanced with laws increasing public safety and private gun ownership where we all give a little bit. For the good of all. So, we can feel safe in our own communities. Now that is mental health.