Second Amendment, Tenth Amendment in action
Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, today persuaded the House to vote61-9 in favor of his legislation, HB 229, to declare that during astate of “extreme emergency” including martial law, invasion orinsurrection, “No government authority will have the right to come andpick up our arms and ammunition.” Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, spokeagainst the bill, saying no one ever expects to see an invasion or adeclaration by the governor of martial law, but no one expected to seeplanes crashing into the World Trade Center either. “We’re meddlinghere with one of the most fundamental and necessary powers, and I thinkwe need to be very careful how we do that,” he told the House. Nielsenresponded, “I don’t see where we’re limiting the governor at all. Infact, I think it even helps him to know that he’s got the public outthere in helping him to maintain law and order.”
The bill passed, andnow heads to the Senate.