BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Senate on Monday cleared a bill that would repeal a longstanding state law prohibiting private militias and paramilitary organizations.
The Idaho National Guard last year introduced similar legislation as part of an effort to clean-up unused state code. The anti-militia law is currently not enforced, but legal experts say removing the statute would limit obstructions to private militias. Similar statutes have been used to prosecute paramilitary activity in other states.
The state law forbids “a body of men,” other than the National Guard, to “associate themselves together as a military company or organization, or parade in public with firearms in any city or town” in Idaho.
