Swordsmyth
02-01-2018, 02:56 AM
Lawmakers in Idaho voted unanimously Wednesday morning to move forward legislation that would prohibit the indefinite detainment of Americans by the federal government or anyone else in that state. If passed into law, the bill would nullify unconstitutional provisions of the infamous 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which purported to authorize the capture and imprisonment of citizens by the military without any semblance of due process. While some local governments in Idaho have already passed similar measures, activists and lawmakers say it is important that residents all over the state be protected from the unconstitutional abuses by the federal government. After being approved in a committee hearing, the measure now moves on to be formally considered by the legislature.
The bipartisan unity on this issue was evident in Idaho, where the legislation to nullify the NDAA was sponsored by a Republican and a Democrat, and was supported by activists on the Left, the Right, and everywhere in-between. Lawmakers from both parties also voted unanimously to move the bill forward after its initial hearing in committee, known as a “print” hearing because it determines whether the bill will be printed and considered by the legislature. One of its key sponsors also emphasized the trans-partisan nature of the support for the legislation protecting fundamental, inalienable rights of American citizens.
“I'm honored to run this bill,” said State Representative Bryan Zollinger, the Republican sponsor, after giving the history of the NDAA and explaining its constitutional problems during the initial hearing. “People from all parties agree that this NDAA is unconstitutional, and just about all legal experts would agree that this NDAA is an unconstitutional act.” Indeed, in his brief comments urging colleagues to move the bill forward, the Republican lawmaker noted that everyone from left-wing MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow to constitutional conservative pundit Judge Andrew Napolitano have blasted the NDAA as a clear violation of the Constitution. On the Democratic side, State Representative Paulette Jordan, who is running for governor, also sponsored the bill.
When questioned by his colleagues about the implications of the nullification bill, dubbed the Restore Constitutional Governance Act, Representative Zollinger noted that it would have protected, for instance, Japanese-Americans in Idaho during World War II from the “tragedy” of being indefinitely interned in camps. That round-up of mostly U.S. citizens was carried out under the purported “authority” of an “executive order” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that was rubber-stamped by the Supreme Court. But while similar abuses may seem unlikely today, under the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA, they are certainly conceivable. Indeed, even late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia warned law students in 2014 that “you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.” (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/17571-supreme-court-justice-scalia-warns-of-u-s-internment-camps)
The legislation, which as of January 31 was still awaiting a bill number, makes it unlawful for “any person” — including soldiers, federal agents, law-enforcement officers, or anyone else — to kidnap or kill anyone in Idaho “under the law of war.” That prohibition applies even if the kidnapper or killer was a government agent acting under a purported “authority” or “law” enacted at the state, local, or federal level. “Any person in violation of this act shall be prosecuted under the criminal code relating to, but not limited to, assault, battery, kidnapping, and/or murder, as applicable,” the bill says. In other words, anyone who follows unconstitutional orders to murder or kidnap Americans in violation of the Constitution would be prosecuted. So it is a nullification bill, “with teeth,” as supporters put it.
Of course, exceptions are provided in the legislation for applying the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to members of the Armed Services who may be serving in Idaho, as provided in the U.S. Constitution. But beyond that, using the military or other government agency to round up and indefinitely detain American citizens in Idaho under the guise of the “terror war,” without respect for due process, would be strictly prohibited. “It is the determination of Congress that the United States is not a 'battlefield' subject to the 'laws of war,' and that neither Congress nor the President can constitutionally apply the 'laws of war' to any person in the United States, or citizen of the United States, who is not serving” in the Armed Services in time of war, the bill says.
More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/28170-idaho-moves-bill-nullifying-ndaa-indefinite-detention
The bipartisan unity on this issue was evident in Idaho, where the legislation to nullify the NDAA was sponsored by a Republican and a Democrat, and was supported by activists on the Left, the Right, and everywhere in-between. Lawmakers from both parties also voted unanimously to move the bill forward after its initial hearing in committee, known as a “print” hearing because it determines whether the bill will be printed and considered by the legislature. One of its key sponsors also emphasized the trans-partisan nature of the support for the legislation protecting fundamental, inalienable rights of American citizens.
“I'm honored to run this bill,” said State Representative Bryan Zollinger, the Republican sponsor, after giving the history of the NDAA and explaining its constitutional problems during the initial hearing. “People from all parties agree that this NDAA is unconstitutional, and just about all legal experts would agree that this NDAA is an unconstitutional act.” Indeed, in his brief comments urging colleagues to move the bill forward, the Republican lawmaker noted that everyone from left-wing MSNBC personality Rachel Maddow to constitutional conservative pundit Judge Andrew Napolitano have blasted the NDAA as a clear violation of the Constitution. On the Democratic side, State Representative Paulette Jordan, who is running for governor, also sponsored the bill.
When questioned by his colleagues about the implications of the nullification bill, dubbed the Restore Constitutional Governance Act, Representative Zollinger noted that it would have protected, for instance, Japanese-Americans in Idaho during World War II from the “tragedy” of being indefinitely interned in camps. That round-up of mostly U.S. citizens was carried out under the purported “authority” of an “executive order” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that was rubber-stamped by the Supreme Court. But while similar abuses may seem unlikely today, under the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA, they are certainly conceivable. Indeed, even late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia warned law students in 2014 that “you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.” (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/17571-supreme-court-justice-scalia-warns-of-u-s-internment-camps)
The legislation, which as of January 31 was still awaiting a bill number, makes it unlawful for “any person” — including soldiers, federal agents, law-enforcement officers, or anyone else — to kidnap or kill anyone in Idaho “under the law of war.” That prohibition applies even if the kidnapper or killer was a government agent acting under a purported “authority” or “law” enacted at the state, local, or federal level. “Any person in violation of this act shall be prosecuted under the criminal code relating to, but not limited to, assault, battery, kidnapping, and/or murder, as applicable,” the bill says. In other words, anyone who follows unconstitutional orders to murder or kidnap Americans in violation of the Constitution would be prosecuted. So it is a nullification bill, “with teeth,” as supporters put it.
Of course, exceptions are provided in the legislation for applying the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to members of the Armed Services who may be serving in Idaho, as provided in the U.S. Constitution. But beyond that, using the military or other government agency to round up and indefinitely detain American citizens in Idaho under the guise of the “terror war,” without respect for due process, would be strictly prohibited. “It is the determination of Congress that the United States is not a 'battlefield' subject to the 'laws of war,' and that neither Congress nor the President can constitutionally apply the 'laws of war' to any person in the United States, or citizen of the United States, who is not serving” in the Armed Services in time of war, the bill says.
More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/28170-idaho-moves-bill-nullifying-ndaa-indefinite-detention