BOISE, Idaho — Controversial legislation that would repeal an Idaho statute prohibiting private militias cleared another hurdle Wednesday, when the House passed the bill with little debate.
House Bill 475, pushed by the Idaho National Guard and Gov. Brad Little, would remove a long-standing state law that serves as an obstruction to private militias. The statute 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 of this state.”
Legal experts, who have used similar statutes to bring civil suits against militias, flagged the bill when it was introduced by the Idaho National Guard last month. Attorneys from Boise and Washington, D.C., urged lawmakers to preserve the statute.
