BISMARCK — The North Dakota House of Representative rejected a measure to establish the Winchester Model 1876 as the official state firearm after one of the chamber's few Native American members spoke out about the gun's historical impact on Indigenous people.
The Republican-dominated House voted 34-59 to defeat Senate Concurrent Resolution 4010 on Wednesday, March 15.
The symbolic legislation sponsored by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, stated that the Winchester Model 1876 is "a powerful firearm with great stopping capabilities and its in-the-field reliability was well-respected by frontiersmen." The resolution also noted that the gun was a favorite of former President Theodore Roosevelt.
Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, tearfully told colleagues about the gun's role in nearly eliminating buffaloes from the region in the late 1800s.
A 2002 article on the Model 1876 refers to the gun as "the only repeating rifle that had successful, documented use in the northern plains buffalo slaughter."
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Davis, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, said hunters' use of the rifle to kill buffaloes robbed Indigenous residents of their livelihood and "almost wiped out our Native nations."
"The way I feel about having such a gun celebrated can only be shared by asking you to imagine us voting on celebrating something that wipes out your livelihood or a weapon to kill your family," Davis said. "My opposition is not about guns in general. It's about this gun."
Rep. Mary Schneider, D-Fargo, noted that North Dakota has gone more than 100 years without naming an official state gun. She said there was no need to upset Native American residents by cementing the weapon as a symbol of the state.
Nine states — Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia — have established a state firearm, according to the National Rifle Association.
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