Idaho panel votes to repeal 151-year-old dueling law

BOISE – A legislative panel is recommending that a 151-year-old Idaho law on duels be repealed. The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee unanimously voted Thursday to eliminate the last remaining reference to dueling in Idaho law.

The rule – on the books since Idaho’s very first legislature as a territory – gives the Gem State jurisdiction over out-of-state duels if a person involved dies in Idaho.

Michael Kane from the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association called the rule completely obsolete.

Kane said the law was inspired by the famous duel in which former Vice President Aaron Burr shot former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.