Joe Biden: “the amendment that the Senator from Georgia [Senator Nunn], and I have proposed would create a narrow exception to the…”

“the amendment that the Senator from Georgia [Senator Nunn], and I have proposed would create a narrow exception to the Posse Comitatus Act in order to permit the use of the military to assist law enforcement in emergency situations involving chemical and biological weapons. Before describing the amendment in detail, let me briefly review the origins of the Posse Comitatus Act and the existing exceptions to it. The term ``posse comitatus'' means literally the ``power of the county.'' Its roots trace back to English common law, where the sheriff, obligated to defend the county against any of the king's enemies, was empowered to summon every person above 15 years old for this purpose. The first Congress provided similar power to Federal marshals in 1789--authorizing the marshals to command all necessary assistance in the execution of their duty. Three years later, Congress explicitly authorized marshals to use the militia in assisting their posse. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the practice of using both the militia and regular military to assist law enforcement became commonplace-- Although whenever military personnel were called into service as a part of a posse, they were subordinated to civilian authority. Following the Civil War, Federal troops were often used extensively in the South, as well as to quell labor unrest in the North.”