Latest news with #JackDowning
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The death of the death of dueling damages
"The Duel," an illustration found in Major Jack Downing's Life of Andrew Jackson. Photograph, 1834. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) Montanans are still liable for damages they cause during a duel, at least as far as the state's archaic legal code goes. Of course, the actual act of standing at 10 paces and killing someone, even if mutually consensual, remains a criminal offense. But the Montana Senate on Friday voted down a bill that sought to remove a statute requiring an individual to 'provide for the maintenance of the spouse and minor children' of their opponent, and pay all of their debts. House Bill 247, brought by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, was billed as a simple code cleanup bill requested by the lieutenant governor's office. In the first hearing on the legislation in January, Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras said that due to the illegality of killing another individual, the 1895 statute needed to be removed because 'it implies that dueling is legal. It is not.' The bill passed the House, 84-16. But the Senate had a different view, with several senators taking great pleasure in the idea of keeping hypothetical duels in Montana statute. 'Dueling is not specifically illegal in Montana. It's against public policy because it's against public policy to kill people,' Sen Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, said on the Senate Floor. '…I do think if you're willing to kill somebody over an issue, you should be willing to die over it. And I even think it's a great thing if you're willing to compensate the family for the damages you've caused. That's what this statue is, it's the remedies for dueling.' Olsen said that the only reason given in committee for removing the statute was that it was considered 'code clutter.' 'This is at least code clutter that brings a smile to everybody's face. It actually hearkens back to the past in a way that is very interesting,' she had said during committee. Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, said the statute was one that gave him peace of mind. Laying out a scenario where in order to defend his honor, he challenged Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, to a duel, Zolnikov said he would likely lose that fight. But, 'he's now responsible for making sure my child and spouse are taken care of. And I like that in law,' Zolnikov said. Hertz said it would 'be my honor,' to take care of the remaining Zolnikovs, if he won such a duel. Before the Senate voted down the bill, 16-34, Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, reminded his colleagues that anybody challenged in a duel has the right to designate the weapons and conditions of the face-off. 'I suggest they do as Abraham Lincoln did,' Fuller said. 'Cow pies at 10 paces.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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.
