Martial Law Now Easier - Way to go, Governor Blanco!
February 26, 2007 by Laura | Trackback URI
It is a truism on the left that the federal response to Katrina was sorely lacking. However, Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) has basically been given a free pass on her contribution to that problem. She waffled, stalled, and worried about her image and holding on to her power instead of the welfare of the people who put her in office.
The Feds, having received all the of the blame in spite of having very little control over the situation have quietly made sure that it’ll never happen again. They’ve slipped a provision into the last defense bill that few noticed.
The provision, signed into law in October, weakens two obscure but important bulwarks of liberty. One is the doctrine that bars military forces, including a federalized National Guard, from engaging in law enforcement. Called posse comitatus, it was enshrined in law after the Civil War to preserve the line between civil government and the military. The other is the Insurrection Act of 1807, which provides the major exemptions to posse comitatus. It essentially limits a president’s use of the military in law enforcement to putting down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion, where a state is violating federal law or depriving people of constitutional rights. The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.”
Thanks, Governor Blanco!
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