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Idaho GOP to consider changes at winter meeting

By Kimberlee Kruesi Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho Republican leaders will soon meet in Boise to vote on possible rule changes and discuss which resolutions the state party will urge GOP lawmakers to support.

The two-day Idaho GOP winter meeting starts next Friday in Boise, just several days before the Republican-dominant Legislature kicks off its 2018 session.

The agenda again includes a proposal asking Republican candidates to disclose their support of the Idaho party platform. If approved, the chairman would be required to announce which candidates either failed to support the whole oath or took exceptions to parts of it.

The party dumped the so-called loyalty oath last year after first adopting it in 2011. Opponents argued the oath was used to narrow the party’s base, rather than promote healthy debate, by pinpointing candidates as “unfaithful” to the GOP.

The Idaho GOP platform contains traditional Republican principles, such as fiscal responsibility, lower taxes and protection of gun rights, but it also mentions more far-right friendly policies. For example, the platform urges people to stock up on gold and silver, eliminate the popular election of U.S. senators and get the Legislature to simply nullify federal laws deemed to violate state sovereignty.

Republican leaders will also be asked to consider a resolution urging state lawmakers to enact “stand-your-ground” legislation, allowing a person to use force rather than flee from a deadly situation. Similar laws have been approved in roughly a dozen states.

“Law-abiding gun owners should be able to exercise their God-given rights to self-defense, especially without fear of facing prosecution or bankruptcy,” the resolution reads as submitted by the Legislative District 17 Republican Committee.

It’s unclear what, if any, gun-related bills will pop up during the 2018 legislative session. However, all 105 lawmakers are up for re-election next year, and it’s not uncommon for bills to be introduced in the Statehouse with the intent to garner favor with voters.