An up-and-coming political commentator from Pinkerton Academy, Anthony Henry, hosts a political interview show every week hosted out by Derry Community Access Media. He had myself, Rep. Emily Phillips, and local candidate Jack Webb on to discuss Defend the Guard, MAID, and the importance of local elections.
Interview with Eric Brakey
I forgot to post this when it aired, but I was graciously invited onto the Porcupine Report’s inaugural episode last month! We covered a lot of topics, largely focused around HB229 – Defend the Guard.
Defend the Guard Passes NH House
January 4th was a momentous day for anti-war advocates. We passed HB 229, Defend the Guard out of the House! The vote was 187 to 182, incredibly close. We got bipartisan support with 24 Democrats crossing over, proving the anti-war left still exists, and is willing to stand up against the military industrial complex. I thank each and every one you for helping us pass this important bill:
Sadly, 26 Republicans voted in favor of forever wars by opposing the bill, and I wish them luck in their primaries this fall:
The bill initially was assigned to Finance, due to the (bogus) fiscal note attached, and they waived off. It is now headed to the Senate! Please, reach out to your Senator to educate them on this bill.
I want to thank Derek Proulx, regional director for the Defend the Guard organization here in New Hampshire, who spoke in front of GOP and Democrat committees, many VFW and American Legion posts, and has been a rock star whipping support for this bill. I also want to thank the support of the co-sponsors, Matt Santonastaso, Michael Granger, Joshua Adjutant and prime sponsor John Potucek for all the hard work getting this here. I always want to recognize Dianne Pauer for identifying potential issues with the bill and clarifying the language in her floor amendment. And, very importantly, I want to thank Ellen Read and Jonah Wheeler that reached out amongst their caucus to get support from the anti-war Democrats on their side. It was truly moving to see their votes.
Now – onto the Senate!
Floor speech:
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
I rise in support of HB229, commonly referred to as the Defend the Guard Act. This bill, very simply, requires Congress to formally declare war pursuant to Art I Section 8 of the US Constitution before we will deploy our State National Guard to a foreign combat zone. It does not stop training deployments, natural disaster response, use to repel invasion or quell uprisings. It has been filed in 38 states, making progress through legislatures.
The fiscal note attached to this bill, a vague “puts funding at risk” is the same, tired, hollow threat the Feds use to bully states into compliance. It’s intentionally non-committal because it is nonsense. When filed in Kansas, Defend the Guard was reported accurately as having no fiscal impact. Congressmen Gossar and Massie have spoken in favor of this bill, stating Congress controls the purse strings, and no member would consider defunding a Guard unit. It simply would be political suicide to file an amendment to an appropriations bill defunding a single State Guard, being both a petty act of malice and also making the country weaker. It will not happen.
Now, for a bit of history. Congress has not formally declared war since 1942. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 introduced the Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF for short), which have been the mechanisms by which the Presidents have executed military operations ever since. This abdication of a constitutionally delegated power to the Executive Branch ultimately led us to the forever wars of the last 2 decades.
The 2001 AUMF was hastily passed in the wake of 9/11, and was so vastly worded, with vague limits on targets, theater of operation, and no victory conditions that it has been the justification for military action in 22 countries. Over the course of this war on terror, National Guard units made up 45 percent of the boots on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, accounting for 18 percent of the casualties.
Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005 was exacerbated by Guard soldiers and equipment that were deployed to Iraq and Kuwait instead of at home protecting their communities. Years later, one of the same missing Louisiana National Guard units, the 256th Infantry Brigade, came under rocket attacks during their deployment to Syria in 2021 where the US is occupying that country’s oil fields.
The Pentagon will continue to exploit State Guard units, to bolster their shrinking ranks in these forever wars, until the States say “enough is enough.” Asking people to “vote harder” in federal elections or to beg out Representatives to repeal the AUMFs has been a failing proposition to stop the uniparty war machine for decadesThe most recent vote in the US Senate to repeal the 2001 AUMF garnered only 10 votes. This is in our hands, right now, to protect the lives of the servicemen and women in our state and to ensure our Guard remains always ready, always there. I ask that you stand with them, Defend the Guard, and press the green button for OTP on HB229.
And, Mr. Speaker, I ask for a roll call vote.
Documentary Screening – What I Want You to Know
I will be hosting a screening for the documentary “What I Want You to Know” on Thursday, December 21st at 6:30pm. This film is a series of interviews from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, telling their stores about why they enlisted, what they experienced, and how their opinions about the wars shifted over the course of their service.
I was connected with the director through the chair of NH SVAC (the State Veterans Advisory Committee) after I tried to convince them to change their position on Defend the Guard. It resonated with me, deeply, and I wrote a multi-page email to the team behind the film with a list of bullet points of how my deployment experiences related to the stories being told. I asked how I could help spread the message, and they offered me the opportunity to host a screening!
With the upcoming floor vote (and hopefully subsequent Senate hearing/vote) on Defend the Guard, this is a great opportunity for synergy between this film and legislation in New Hampshire. After the movie I’ll be explaining what we can all do to push back against the DC war machine, and protect the next generation from repeating the mistakes of the last two decades.
Tickets are free, but limited. Get them here.
LSR 24-2123 – Relative to New Hampshire’s Enforcement of the Military Selective Service Act
For those that don’t know me, I’m a Marine Corps infantry veteran with two combat deployments to Iraq. This experience has turned me into a vehement anti-war advocate as I don’t believe that United States’ foreign policy has made us safer, and all the death we’ve caused across the planet has, in fact, increased hatred towards our nation. Following from those wars, the United States fought on the same sides as Al-Qaida in various regime change operations in the middle east during the Arab Spring, trained individuals in Syria that eventually left to help form ISIS, and are assisting the Saudis in the genocide of the Houthis in Yemen. Not one of these actions has made us safer and will breed the next generation of terrorists across the globe.
The 2001 AUMF is still in effect, over a decade after bin Laden was killed, and is currently being used as justification for regime change in the African country of Niger. Senator Rand Paul tried to end or fix the AUMF in various ways twice this year, both times failing to get more than 11 votes. Waiting for the House and Senate to correct the massive mistake they made in 2001 by handing unlimited unilateral military power to the Executive Branch is a waste of time.
As such, I’ve devised as best a shield as possible to protect the next generation from being drafted and sent to these unconstitutional military conflicts, borrowing language from sanctuary state policies combined with the exception baked into Defend the Guard. This has culminated in what I like to refer to as Selective Service Sanctuary State legislation.
This simply states that New Hampshire law enforcement will not cooperate with Federal agencies in the locating, apprehension, or transportation of individuals failing to register or show for selective service call ups, unless Congress formally declares war or the homeland is invaded.
I have several Republicans co-sponsoring, and I’m reaching across the aisle to try and get this as an even R/D split. Pushing back against the ravenous military industrial complex, which is profiting off the deaths of our youth, is a nonpartisan issue.
LSR 24-2043 – Relative to the return of weapons and ammunition upon expiration of protective orders.
Within the legal system of the New Hampshire, there is a presumption of innocence, until otherwise proven in a court a law. New Hampshire also enacted civil asset forfeiture reform, so an innocent person does not have to fight the government out of pocket to get back their property which was seized before any conviction was made.
But, we still have another law on the books within the protective order statute that requires a defendant to petition the court, and then prove their innocence to have any firearms and ammunition return to them upon termination of the order. This is backwards from due process.
I filed a bill to invert the responsibility onto the plaintiff, that they must petition the court and argue their case why the defendant shouldn’t be permitted to have their property returned. I also took umbrage with two other sections of the law that allowed police to charge for a “storage fee” and then again be off the hook for damaged property. I was especially surprised hearing one anecdote where the “storage fee” was more than the weapon was worth!
I am looking for co-sponsors.
LSR 24-2432 – Allowing private ownership of small tailed monkeys, racoons, foxes, otters, skunks, and kangaroos
In the modern age, interacting with voters has never been easier. I consider myself one of the terminally online millennials that spends too much time on Twitter (or X, whichever you prefer). As such, a Granite Stater tagged me in a Twitter post that New Hampshire should legalize monkeys as pets. In the replies a list was compiled of animals that are not prohibited by other states for ownership.
With that, I volunteered to submit a bill on behalf of these folks, and the language back from OLS is the most Ron Swanson of versions imaginable, simply stating “no permit required.” I like the elegance of it a whole lot.
I have 10 days to sign off and am looking for co-sponsors, so share this to your Representatives, and we can take a step forward with liberty-via-Twitter activism!
Defend the Guard Ties in My Committee
It will leave with “no recommendation” but the first motion on the House floor will be Ought to Pass.
The entire working/executive session is available on YouTube.
As before, the amount of those speaking against was fewer than those speaking in support, and towards the end I ask the room to raise their hand if they supported the bill. The response was a sea of raised hands.
I had many, many questions for the SVAC representation, and had to call it quits before I managed to lose support from my own committee for going on too long.
This is exciting news for Defend the Guard, and I will be speaking in support from the well when it hits the floor. I want to thank all of you for your support, phone calls, emails, and coming out to testify, you moved the needle for sure.
Defend the Guard PorcFest Interview w/ Derek Proulx
I went to Porcfest this summer and was interviewed by Derek Proulx about HB229 – Defend the Guard. We talked about our history in service to the United States and how we both came to the same conclusion – the United States no longer wages war for the betterment of its citizens, but to advance the goals of the military industrial complex.
2024 Bills to be Filed
Bill filing begins on September 11, and here is a list of bills I will be submitting this year.
Transparency in Military Recruiting
I will require schools and the DMV to provide casualty and suicide rate statistics of servicemembers, veterans, and civilians caused by US conflicts of the 21st century whenever military recruiters are hosted, anytime the ASVAB is administered, or when driver’s license applications include the Selective Service registration checkbox.
It’s important that young people are given all the information before making life-changing decisions, and military recruiters are not very forthcoming with information that will hurt their quotas. With escalating global tensions, I believe transparency is critically important.
Repeal Select Service Registration Awareness and Compliance Act (RSA 187-A:38-41)
The act prohibits students from enrolling in public colleges if they have not registered for Selective Service (the draft). This is not the responsibility of the state to enforce and I believe it should be repealed.
Selective Service Sanctuary State
I will combine language from Defend the Guard and sanctuary state laws from other states to read that New Hampshire will not provide resources to aid the Federal government in apprehension of draft dodgers, unless Congress formally declares war.
As part of this, I’ll add an option to the Selective Service registration checkbox on license applications to denote conscientious objector status out of the gate.
Campus Due Process
I will submit the FIRE Campus Due Process bill. It provides an accused student with due process (presumption of innocence, access to evidence, right to acquire counsel) in any suspension/expulsion hearing.
Due Process in Temporary Relief Protective Order
It came as a surprise to me to learn that NH has a de facto Red Flag Law within the protective order RSA (173-B:4). There’s pieces of this that require more due process that I am looking to improve.
In addition, the method of returning property to its rightful owner upon expiration of the order involves the accused getting a court order. Instead, the police should have to return the items upon expiration, unless a court order exists to the contrary.
Right to Die
This one is a bit rough, but a pure libertarian stance. You have the right to do with your body and life as you choose, to include ending it. Many folks are suffering with terminal illness with no hope for cures, often in extreme pain, putting their family in emotional and financial strain. I’ll ensure the legislation has enough safeguards in place to prevent abuse, to avoid any situations similar to the anecdotal instances of bad MAID prescriptions occurring by state-run medicine in Canada.
Co-sponsorships and the Future
There are other bills being conceived that I’ve offered to co-sponsor, that I won’t spoil too much on until I’m sure they are being filed. They include topics like augmenting sheriffs to a more constitutional role, transparency from the college system, loosening up car inspections, suppressor legalization, police vehicle visibility, and others.
It’s important to remember the House is basically 50/50 split, so anything too partisan is unlikely to pass. That being said, Overton window shifting is important, and bringing issues to light via legislative testimony can get a foot in the door to expanding liberty in future sessions.
Tom Mannion for New Hampshire 