BOISE, Idaho — Legal experts have raised concerns over a new bill, pushed by the Idaho National Guard and Gov. Brad Little, that would repeal a long-standing state law prohibiting private militias and paramilitary organizations.
While the anti-militia law is currently not enforced in Idaho, removing it would limit the obstructions to private militias, which operate outside state authority and are unaccountable to the public, legal experts say. Similar anti-militia laws have been used to halt paramilitary activity through the courts in other states.
Last month, the Idaho National Guard introduced the legislation, "relating to unorganized associations and parades," that would repeal part of an Idaho code section that regulates the Idaho Military Division. 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."
