Idaho Republicans push anti-Washington D.C. bills

Idaho Republicans lobbed more legislative spitballs at Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, with measures calling to sue the federal government over gun rights and control of federal land and to replace standard American currency with gold and silver. The bills join several other anti-federal government measures introduced in the Legislature, including a measure to preempt federal identification legislation that could affect state driver's licenses and a resolution demanding leaders in Washington, D.C. eliminate the country's deficit in 55 years. And last month, the House rejected any federal health care law that would require people to buy insurance. St. Maries Republican Dick Harwood told the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday that Idaho should approve a bill making guns manufactured and sold in-state exempt from national regulations - including background checks on people who buy the guns. Similar bills have cleared the Montana and Tennessee legislatures, and Harwood says passing one would show that Idaho is willing to stand up for its rights, too. Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, wants Idaho to consider legal action against leaders in Washington, D.C. The Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service manage about 61 percent of Idaho territory, and Anderson wants a state council to determine if Idaho can sue the federal government. "If the federal government is negligent, there may be a possibility we could take over the operations of the land," Anderson said...read more