Rod Miller: A Couple Freedom Caucus Bills I Support

Rod Miller writes, "Voila! Hidden in the pile of pointless culture-war pontificating and goofball populist pipe dreams, I found a couple Freedom Caucus bills I support, and can suggest with a straight face that they’ll be good for Wyoming."

RM
Rod Miller

February 02, 20254 min read

Rod miller headshot scaled
(Cowboy State Daily Staff)

If you are reading this column expecting one more harangue against the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, I’m gonna disappoint you. There will be plenty of time for that in later columns.

In the interest of journalistic balance and not wanting to sound like a broken record, I’ve piled through the wagonload of Freedom Caucus bills this session in search of some legislative initiative that I can get behind.

And voila! Hidden in the pile of pointless culture-war pontificating and goofball populist pipe dreams, I found a couple bills I support, and can suggest with a straight face that they’ll be good for Wyoming.

First off, Riverton Republican Rep. Pepper Ottman’s “Wyoming Anti-SLAPP Act’, House Bill 223, is a dandy. The intent of this bill is to bolster First Amendment rights to free speech and expression and to protect citizens from lawsuits when they tell the truth.

SLAPP, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, are legal tools used by corrupt politicians, sleazy corporations and general malefactors when a whistleblower, the press, or a concerned citizen calls them out on their nefarious deeds. As things stand now, rich and powerful organizations or individuals can tie up a citizen who dares criticize them in the public arena, in grossly expensive and time-consuming litigation.

HB 223 acknowledges that Article 1 Section 20 of the Wyoming Constitution confirms that truth is a positive defense against defamation. In other words, if you tell the truth about someone, that is protected speech.

But the aggrieved object of your truth-telling can still haul you into court and bankrupt you with lawyers’ fees and legal costs, penalizing you for speaking the truth. 

Ottman’s bill will provide qualified immunity to you for your whistle-blowing or truth-telling. If you, as a citizen exercising your First Amendment rights, and speaking truth to power, are threatened with legal action, this bill could thwart that lawsuit through early dismissal and other mechanisms – if it becomes law.

Trial lawyers will likely hate this bill, as will corporations and organizations that don’t want their malicious actions called out publicly by citizens. But screw ‘em. I like this bill because it guarantees citizens’ right to participate in the public arena fully without fear of reprisal.

Next, Cheyenne Republican Rep. Daniel Singh’s “Defend the Guard Act”, House Bill 195, limits how and when the federal government can deploy troops of the Wyoming National Guard. Simply stated, this bill will prevent our Guard from being sent into combat without Congress declaring war.

Even though our Constitution clearly states that only Congress can declare war, the United States has not been in a declared war since the Empire of Japan surrendered in 1945.

And since that time, our Guard has been sent into overseas combat through bullshit instruments like the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and various AUMFs (Authorized Use of Military Force) all of which end-run our Constitution and place our Guard troops at mortal risk.

HB 195 will bring that nonsense to a screeching halt.

The top brass in the Wyoming Guard will probably hate this bill, worried that their expensive airplanes, tanks and helicopters will be taken away, but that is the price of living up to the United States Constitution.

But Wyoming kids who view the Guard as an employment option will love it. It means that they can join the Guard to learn and earn without the fear of being sent to invade Greenland or Panama, and risk being killed far from The Big Empty. 

So, kudos to both Representatives Ottman and Singh! To my knowledge, both are staunch Wyoming Freedom Caucus members, but have avoided writing bills that tell us where to pee, how to pray, or what we can do with our own bodies.

Their bills should be passed, and become laws that are good for all Wyomingites. After all, that’s precisely why they were elected.

Rod Miller can be reached at: RodsMillerWyo@yahoo.com

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