The Libby City Council is poised to pass a new ordinance making the discharge of a firearm within city limits a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $500, or both.

The proposed ordinance, No. 1867, sailed through its first reading at the March 16 Council meeting with unanimous approval. It is on the schedule for final approval at the April 6 City Council meeting.

Libby Police Chief Jim Smith said he started asking for the ordinance a couple of years ago after an incident in which a Libby resident shot a deer in his driveway within city limits. Officers wrote a citation under an old Montana state law, as Libby didn’t have an ordinance prohibiting discharge.

“The only law in effect right now is a state law over 100 years old, and it sets the fine at $25. It’s a wild-west law that just doesn’t mean anything now,” Smith said.

Because the individual shot a deer, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks law enforcement managed to cite him for hunting regulation violations, but had he missed the deer the only thing available to local police would have been that $25 fine.

The new ordinance is expected to pass the City Council and will become effective 30 days after passage.