The Posse Comitatus Act is occasionally mentioned as a measure to prevent the armed forces of the US being used for domestic purposes.
Sounds like a good idea in principle, but the wikipedia article linked above mentions a heap fo exceptions, for congress-ordered deployments, those ordered by the President in an emergency situation, National Guard troops under the command of state Governors and a couple of other exceptions.
Don’t these exceptions mean that there is very little left of the principle that troops can’t be used for domestic purposes? Have I misunderstood the original principle or do these exceptions represent gradual erosions? What’s left of the original act that merits its continued existence?
Someone will be along shortly to dazzle you with legal mumbo-jumbo. The military has always been used for domestic purposes. The oath everyone swears states to defend against “all enemies, foreign and domestic.” The law is about using the miliatry in lieu of local law enforcement. There are exceptions and there always has been. For example the National Guard trains for domestic disturbances. They are usually used to protect infrastructure and government sites. If used for crowd control there should be local or state law enforcement control and coordination.
As a factual answer only, there are many people who believe that the military should not be used for routine law enforcement purposes.
The exceptions drawn to the PCA can generally only be invoked in unusual or extreme circumstances, such as allowing the military to act as first responders in the case of a WMD attack within the US, or allowing, under limited circumstances, the military to quell a rebellion or civil chaos. Those are not exactly routine law enforcement operations.
In the same vein, many folks would have problems if Humvees with 7.62 mm machine guns started tracking down common criminals, because it would make our society look militaristic. These people point to the lines in the Declaration of Independence about the outrage at the King keeping standing armies among the citizenry without the consent of American legislatures.
Finally, despite exceptions, the heart of the PCA still operates: you don’t see military troops patroling our streets.
I think the National Guard is exempt, unless it’s been Federalized. Until that point, it’s not part of the US Army, and is under the explicit command of the state governors.
That’s why they can be used in civil disturbances, etc… without running afoul of the law.