No more dueling damages
"The Duel," an illustration found in Major Jack Downing's Life of Andrew Jackson. Photograph, 1834. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
Members of Kentucky's Electoral College, before officially casting their votes for the nation's president, must swear they have never been involved in a duel with a deadly weapon, due to an 1850 clause in the state constitution.
In Arkansas, an individual who takes part or assists in a duel cannot serve in public office for a decade, per state law.
And in Montana, anyone who slays or permanently disables another person in a duel, 'shall provide for the maintenance of the spouse and minor children' of their opponent, and pay all of their debts, as well.
Of course, dueling is not allowed in the state due to regular laws around deliberate homicide and aggravated assault. However, the 1895 law about legal recourse for dueling damages is still on the books.
'It's part of code clutter,' Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras said in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 28. 'It implies that dueling is legal. It is not. You cannot, even with mutual consent, kill one another.'
A big part of Gov. Greg Gianforte's tenure in office has been 'red tape relief,' including removing outdated and unnecessary statutes from state law. Juras, speaking on behalf of the Governor's Office, said this statute was flagged during the routine review of Montana Code Annotated this year.
The law was last updated in 2009 — when the entire MCA was updated to adopt gender-neutral language — and before that it was last amended in 1979 to change the word 'slayer' to 'person.'
Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, is carrying the bill through the Legislature.
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