Legislators, sheriffs speak out in opposition to home guard bill

Legislators, sheriffs speak out in opposition to home guard bill

Tim Leeds

Some local legislators and the Hill and Blaine county sheriffs have taken a stand in opposition to Rep. Wendy Warburton's proposal on the operation of a home guard system in Montana. The home guard she proposes has been labeled as a paramilitary unit by some, though Warburton bristles at that characterization.

"I'm speechless, " said Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, when asked about Warburton's bill this morning.

Under state law, the governor is authorized to organize, maintain and disband a home guard comprising officers assigned to it and volunteers when additional defense forces are needed. It is considered part of the state militia, along with the National Guard.

Warburton's bill, House Bill 278, changes how the home guard is formed and operated, including separating its regulation from most state regulation of the National Guard.

The home guard company would be created when the governor appoints a company captain, who then would recruit, muster and train a company, or when the governor approves a petition by a person requesting appointment as a captain or a group petitioning the creation of a home guard company.

A company would be activated and assigned to duty by the governor or at the request of the county sheriff, pending gubernatorial approval.

***Warburton explains her bill

Warburton denounces the phrase "paramilitary organization" to describe the home guard.

She said she heard a similar proposal for a home guard in the 2009 legislative session.

"I thought, 'What a great bill, '" she said.

She said the idea — used in 20 states — is to provide additional help in case of an emergency or need for extra defense forces.

"That's what it's about, doing good things, helping neighbors in a case of an emergency, " she said. "It's too bad when doing this can be miscategorized. "

She used an example of a severe fire in Blaine County in the 1990s — volunteers abounded, but without any organization. That created new problems.

Warburton said her proposal is not intended to supplant or discount the work of existing emergency services or the National Guard, but it could help in those efforts and bring help much more quickly.

Her bill has drawn criticism from some who say the home guard — which would not be under federal regulation — could easily be taken over by locals and that it could be abused by anti-government groups.

***Sheriffs don't support the proposal

The sheriffs of Hill and Blaine counties said Thursday they don't support Warburton's bill.

Blaine County Sheriff Glenn Huestis said the ability of the governor to call up the National Guard, as well as existing groups and agreements with other counties such as cooperation agreements with the Hill County Search and Rescue, already can handle emergencies.

"Knowing the people in our community and their knowledge of our area would make it very easy for me to call upon them for any assistance we may have for any type of emergency, " Huestis told the Havre Daily News. "I, therefore, feel we can and will have the needed resources within our community to provide a safe and orderly response to whatever emergency we may have. "

Hill County Sheriff Don Brostrom made similar comments. The National Guard, work by public safety agencies and existing units like the Hill County Search and Rescue and others in Hill County and neighboring jurisdictions allow the handling of crisis situations, he said.

***Called a waste of time

Two local legislators said this — and other bills — are taking up the time of the Legislature when it could be tackling bigger issues.

"I think the Legislature came to town to create jobs and get the state's economy back into action, " Rep. Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, told the Havre Daily News. "I didn't come here to talk about home guard bills. "

Belcourt said he believes enough volunteer organizations already are in place to help with disasters.

"We should be doing something productive instead of wasting time with things like this, " he said. "There are a lot more important issues that we need to be working on. "

Windy Boy said that, as well as wasting time, the bill creates some serious concerns. He referenced the Montana Freemen, a group from outside of Jordan that were arrested and tried following a standoff in 1996 with FBI agents.

"I'm sure the intent of this whole thing is for the best, " Windy Boy said. But he said that it easily could be twisted or misused.

He added that the bill was modeled after legislation from other states, like Texas. Applying that to Montana — including just the difference in population — makes it unworkable, he said.

"It's a whole different situation, " Windy Boy said.

He added that the atmosphere of this Legislature has left him speechless. He said he has a letter from legislative services listing 94 bills that may have constitutional or other legal problems.

"Whatever happened to the Legislature being supposed to bring jobs. It's just wasting our time, " Windy Boy said. "It's getting frustrating here. "

Sen. Rowlie Hutton, R-Havre, said he has not had a chance to review the bill, so has no opinion at this time.

Rep. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, had not responded by deadline this morning to a request for comments on the bill.

Some local legislators and the Hill and Blaine county sheriffs have taken a stand in opposition to Rep. Wendy Warburton's proposal on the operation of a home guard system in Montana. The home guard she proposes has been labeled as a paramilitary unit by some, though Warburton bristles at that characterization.

"I'm speechless, " said Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, when asked about Warburton's bill this morning.

Under state law, the governor is authorized to organize, maintain and disband a home guard comprising officers assigned to it and volunteers when additional defense forces are needed. It is considered part of the state militia, along with the National Guard.

Warburton's bill, House Bill 278, changes how the home guard is formed and operated, including separating its regulation from most state regulation of the National Guard.

The home guard company would be created when the governor appoints a company captain, who then would recruit, muster and train a company, or when the governor approves a petition by a person requesting appointment as a captain or a group petitioning the creation of a home guard company.

A company would be activated and assigned to duty by the governor or at the request of the county sheriff, pending gubernatorial approval.

Warburton explains her bill

Warburton denounces the phrase "paramilitary organization" to describe the home guard.

She said she heard a similar proposal for a home guard in the 2009 legislative session.

"I thought, 'What a great bill, '" she said.

She said the idea — used in 20 states — is to provide additional help in case of an emergency or need for extra defense forces.

"That's what it's about, doing good things, helping neighbors in a case of an emergency, " she said. "It's too bad when doing this can be miscategorized. "

She used an example of a severe fire in Blaine County in the 1990s — volunteers abounded, but without any organization. That created new problems.

Warburton said her proposal is not intended to supplant or discount the work of existing emergency services or the National Guard, but it could help in those efforts and bring help much more quickly.

Her bill has drawn criticism from some who say the home guard — which would not be under federal regulation — could easily be taken over by locals and that it could be abused by anti-government groups.

Sheriffs don't support the proposal

The sheriffs of Hill and Blaine counties said Thursday they don't support Warburton's bill.

Blaine County Sheriff Glenn Huestis said the ability of the governor to call up the National Guard, as well as existing groups and agreements with other counties such as cooperation agreements with the Hill County Search and Rescue, already can handle emergencies.

"Knowing the people in our community and their knowledge of our area would make it very easy for me to call upon them for any assistance we may have for any type of emergency, " Huestis told the Havre Daily News. "I, therefore, feel we can and will have the needed resources within our community to provide a safe and orderly response to whatever emergency we may have. "

Hill County Sheriff Don Brostrom made similar comments. The National Guard, work by public safety agencies and existing units like the Hill County Search and Rescue and others in Hill County and neighboring jurisdictions allow the handling of crisis situations, he said.

Called a waste of time

Two local legislators said this — and other bills — are taking up the time of the Legislature when it could be tackling bigger issues.

"I think the Legislature came to town to create jobs and get the state's economy back into action, " Rep. Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, told the Havre Daily News. "I didn't come here to talk about home guard bills. "

Belcourt said he believes enough volunteer organizations already are in place to help with disasters.

"We should be doing something productive instead of wasting time with things like this, " he said. "There are a lot more important issues that we need to be working on. "

Windy Boy said that, as well as wasting time, the bill creates some serious concerns. He referenced the Montana Freemen, a group from outside of Jordan that were arrested and tried following a standoff in 1996 with FBI agents.

"I'm sure the intent of this whole thing is for the best, " Windy Boy said. But he said that it easily could be twisted or misused.

He added that the bill was modeled after legislation from other states, like Texas. Applying that to Montana — including just the difference in population — makes it unworkable, he said.

"It's a whole different situation, " Windy Boy said.

He added that the atmosphere of this Legislature has left him speechless. He said he has a letter from legislative services listing 94 bills that may have constitutional or other legal problems.

"Whatever happened to the Legislature being supposed to bring jobs. It's just wasting our time, " Windy Boy said. "It's getting frustrating here. "

Sen. Rowlie Hutton, R-Havre, said he has not had a chance to review the bill, so has no opinion at this time.

Rep. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, had not responded by deadline this morning to a request for comments on the bill.