Texas Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly in Favor of Restricting Combat Deployments of State’s National Guard

The Defend the Guard Act would prohibit the deployment of a state's National Guard to a combat zone without a declaration of war

On Tuesday, Texas Republican primary voters overwhelmingly supported a proposition in favor of legislation to restrict the deployment of the state’s National Guard to combat zones.

The proposition stated, “The Texas Legislature should prohibit the deployment of the Texas National Guard to a foreign conflict unless Congress first formally declares war.”

In response, 84% of voters said “yes,” and only 16% voted “no.”

The proposition was based on the Defend the Guard Act, legislation that has been introduced in over 30 states that would prohibit the deployment of a state’s National Guard to combat zones without a formal declaration of war from Congress, as required by the Constitution.

A version of the Defend the Guard Act has passed in three state legislatures so far. Most recently, the Idaho state Senate approved the bill in a vote of 27-8, and it now heads to Idaho’s House of Representatives for consideration.

Visit Defendtheguard.us to see if the Defend the Guard Act has been introduced in your state. Click here to volunteer for phone banking to help get the legislation passed in states where it has been introduced.

National Guard units are still being deployed to wars in the Middle East and Africa, including in Syria and Somalia. The recent drone attack that killed three members of the US Army Reserve at Tower 22 in Jordan also wounded about 40 members of the Arizona National Guard.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.