Civil Liberties

Jon believes strongly in protecting Montanans’ constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms and right to privacy. He has voted to protect Americans against all forms of federal government overreach that violate these precious Constitutional freedoms.

As a gun owner, Jon is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. He has supported bipartisan legislation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, and those found by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others. He believes that we can keep our kids and communities safe without infringing on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners. That is why he has also consistently voted against any type of database or registry of gun owners, opposed legislation that would prevent an individual from purchasing or possessing firearms without meaningful due process, and broken with his own party to oppose banning assault weapons.

Jon is also a strong protector of the right to privacy and has voted to prevent the government from intruding into the lives of Americans. He has fought hard to oppose mass government surveillance programs and efforts to allow law enforcement to access American’s personal information in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Jon has also fought to protect a woman’s right to make her own private health care decisions, and to keep politicians from telling Montanans how to live their lives.   

Lastly, Jon has worked hard to ensure that no American is discriminated against because of who they are or where they live. He is a cosponsor of the Equality Act, which would defend any Montanan from discrimination in core areas of everyday life including education, housing, and the use of taxpayer dollars.

Tester Votes to Protect Montanans’ Privacy Rights, Stop Biden Administration from Warrantless Searches
Senator voted against reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) because it lacked measures to protect Montanans’ privacy As part of his longstanding efforts to protect Montanans’ personal privacy rights, U.S. Senator Jon Tester voted to stop...
Tester Statement on FISA Reauthorization
U.S. Senator Jon Tester today issued the following statement on his concerns that reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) would undermine Montanans’ freedom and privacy: “Montanans care deeply about their right to privacy and don’t want the government...
After Tester Push, Provision to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights from Federal Overreach is Included in ...
Tester called on Senate leadership last week to keep bipartisan amendment language that protects veterans’ access to legal firearms in government funding legislation A critical bipartisan amendment U.S. Senator Jon Tester championed to protect veterans’ access to legal firearms has been included...