On Tuesday, during the Republican Party primary in Texas, voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 6, indicating endorsement of the Defend the Guard Act.
The proposition reads: “The Texas Legislature should prohibit the deployment of the Texas National Guard to a foreign conflict unless Congress first formally declares war.”
At the time of this release, with over 59% of precincts reporting, Proposition 6 has garnered an 84% share of the electorate, totalling over 1.8 million votes. The latest count can be found here.
The Defend the Guard Act, which would actualize the wishes of Republican voters into law, has been introduced in over thirty states during the 2024 legislative season. In the previous sixty days, versions of the bill have passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives, the Arizona Senate, and the Idaho Senate.
The Defend the Guard Act has been a formal plank of the Republican Party of Texas platform since 2020. It was subsequently adopted by the Republican Party of Georgia.
Dan McKnight, chairman of the national veterans advocacy organization Bring Our Troops Home, hailed the passage of Proposition 6:
“Conservatives of Texas have spoken with one, unifying voice. They are demanding an end to undeclared wars and a return to adherence of the U.S. Constitution. This vote is both an affirmation and a warning: voters have alerted politicians in no uncertain words that continuing to ignore the mandates of Article I, Section 8 will have severe electoral consequences.”
Sgt. Dan McKnight is a thirteen-year veteran of the U.S. military, with service in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, U.S. Army, and Idaho Army National Guard, including an eighteen month combat deployment in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007.
In 2019 McKnight and other veterans of the Global War on Terror founded Bring Our Troops Home, which has spearheaded the growth of the Defend the Guard movement. McKnight concluded his statement:
“This vote by millions of Texas Republicans is a strong and encouraging sign that the decades of illegal wars are coming to an end. Inch by painful inch—and with occasional leaps and bounds like in Texas—Americans are reclaiming our sovereign authority and rescinding federal overreach.”
In December 2023, when Proposition 6 was added to the Republican ballot, it carried the overwhelming support of the 64-member State Republican Executive Committee, including current state party Chairman Matt Rinaldi.
At the national level, the Defend the Guard Act has been endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).
