The New Hampshire State House passed the Defend The Guard Act in a 187-182 vote on Thursday, which, if passed in the Senate and signed by the Governor, “would prohibit the deployment of the New Hampshire National Guard into overseas combat unless Congress first votes to declare war.”
This is much-needed legislation as the Biden Regime plunges the U.S. into foreign wars left and right, all while leaving American national security vulnerable and our borders wide open.
Defend The Guard has been introduced in other states, including Arizona.
Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers’ SB1367 “Defend the Guard” would have “Prohibit[ed] the National Guard of Arizona from being released into active duty combat unless the U.S. Congress has passed an official declaration of war, or has taken another official constitutional action as outlined.” After Senate Republicans passed this bill with zero Democrat support, Toma stonewalled it in the House, according to a Capitol insider and Bring our Troops Home founder Dan McKnight.
Toma’s office confirmed to the same insider that it was dead on arrival even after the historic passage in the Arizona senate.
Senator Rogers gave the following statement, highlighting her intention to reintroduce the Defend the Guard Act in the 2024 legislative session to The Gateway Pundit:
ROGERS: Last year the Arizona Senate was the first legislative body in the United States to take the historic step of defending our National Guard from Joe Biden’s unconstitutional wars of choice. As a 5th generation career military officer, it was my honor to carry this bill to spearhead its passage. I will be reintroducing the Defend the Guard Act this coming session and will continue to work on behalf of our men and women in uniform until we’ve returned proper authority to the people’s representatives. I believe that if it’s a war the majority of Congress won’t vote for, then it’s a war Arizona shouldn’t fight.”
Bring Our Troops Home, the veteran group behind this bill, celebrated this victory for our troops on X:
#DefendTheGuard has just passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives in a 187-182 vote!
H.B. 229 would prohibit the deployment of the New Hampshire National Guard into overseas combat unless Congress first votes to declare war.
The third largest legislative body in the English-speaking world has just struck an incredible blow against the DC empire.
Thank you to our bill sponsors John Potucek, Tom Mannion, Michael Granger, and Matthew Santonastas for fighting for this bill in committee and on the House floor.
And thank you to all the local activists who door knocked, phone banked, and contacted their representatives about H.B. 229—in particular Derek Proulx, who’s demonstrated incredible leadership.
This victory is the culmination of years of work by veterans, patriots, and others who are committed to our Constitution and an #AmericaFirst foreign policy.
In March 2023, the Arizona Senate became the first body to pass this bill. Our movement is continually growing, and over 30 state legislatures will have versions of the Defend the Guard Act introduced in 2024.
If you want to enlist in the movement to #BringOurTroopsHome from endless wars and defend the integrity of your National Guard, please begin making a monthly contribution to our veteran-led organization: https://secure.anedot.com/bringourtroopshome/107club
BREAKING NEWS #DefendTheGuard has just passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives in a 187-182 vote!
H.B. 229 would prohibit the deployment of the New Hampshire National Guard into overseas combat unless Congress first votes to declare war.
The third largest… pic.twitter.com/eR93j5bpt5
— Bring Our Troops Home (@TroopsHomeUS) January 4, 2024
According to Bring Our Troops Home’s webpage,
Bring Our Troops Home is an organization composed of veterans of the Global War on Terror and their civilian allies who are dedicated to ending American involvement in our endless wars in the Middle East and bringing our troops home. We insist that the Constitution of the United States be respected and enforced, requiring a formal declaration of war by Congress before U.S. military forces are deployed into combat overseas. And we are committed to returning to a foreign policy befitting a limited government republic, one that puts “America First.”
To achieve these goals, Bring Our Troops Home will utilize public education, political action, and legislation, including passing “Defend the Guard” bills in state houses across the country.
Pete Hegseth and Kayleigh McEnany also endorsed the legislation on Fox and Friends this weekend:
HEGSETH: This caught my eye. It’s a really interesting development. Right now, This is New Hampshire only, and New Hampshire is simply pointing out that it’s supposed to be Congress that declares war. It has become an executive branch function, and as a result, unless the Congress declares war, New Hampshire doesn’t have to send troops for foreign wars. To me, it makes a lot of sense. I spent most of my career as a National Guardsman, deployed multiple times with the National Guard to foreign wars. We got used to the idea that State National Guard are part of expeditionary forces, which is not traditionally the use of a National Guard. And so this is New Hampshire saying we don’t trust how the federal government is going to use our troops. So, we’re willing to commit them when the American people, through their elected branch in Congress, commits those troops to a foreign war, then you can. I love this idea. I’m sure the National Guard Bureau is, “Oh no.” I love states exerting their influence through a system of federalism and the idea of protecting the prerogative of why are we sending some young guy from New Hampshire to the eastern province of Afghanistan, when you have a northern border problem or floods that happen in New Hampshire and they’re not there to be able to provide support for that? It’s an interesting development. It will be interesting to see whether other legislatures do this and how the military reacts to it.
MCENANY: Why are states having to tell the federal government, abide by the letter of the Constitution? I love it as well. But it’s an unfortunate state of affairs when the states are having to say abide by the text.
ENDORSEMENT
This morning, Fox & Friends weekend panel unanimously endorsed the Defend the Guard Act.
H.B. 229, which passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Thursday, would prohibit the deployment of the state’s National Guard into overseas combat without a… pic.twitter.com/dHZwobmt7n
— Bring Our Troops Home (@TroopsHomeUS) January 6, 2024
The post New Hampshire House of Representatives Passes Defend The Guard Act to Prohibit National Guard Deployment in Overseas Combat Unless Congress Officially Declares War appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.