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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
206 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting congress to repeal or amend that portion of public law no. 109-364 that allows the president to take control of the national GUARD without the consent of the governor and to declare MARTIAL law.
WHEREAS, the Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C. §§331 - 335), a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States, and the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. §1385), historically have helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, the Posse Comitatus Act, originally enacted in 1878, provides that, "[w]hoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both"; and
WHEREAS, the Posse Comitatus Act is the only federal criminal statute that outlaws military operations directed against the American people under the cover of "law enforcement" and, as such, it has been the nation's best protection against the power-hungry intentions of an unscrupulous and reckless executive, an executive intent on using force to enforce its will; and
WHEREAS, Public Law No. 109-364, the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R. 5122), which was signed by the President on October 17, 2006, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder"; and
WHEREAS, the President's actions in engineering the passage and enactment of certain provisions of Public Law No. 109-364 represent a grave threat to posse comitatus and to American democracy itself because it gives the President the power to declare martial law; and
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to repeal those portions of Public Law No. 109-364 that undermine the Insurrection and Posse Comitatus Acts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.
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OFFERED BY: |
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State Control of National Guard