Martial Law

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For the U.S. military, the restrictions for martial law is codified by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and the Insurrection Act of 1807.

The PCA restricts the use of the Army and modified to include the Air Force, essentially it prevents the President from using the regular military to enforce domestic law. The PCA does not cover the Navy and Marines, however, naval regulations are in place that require both branches to fall in line with the PCA.

The Insurrection Act does provide for use of the military under specific circumstances AND for limited periods. The original 1807 act was modified in 2006-2007-2008 and 2011, well outside the T2K period.

The only portions of the military not covered by these acts are the National Guard and the Coast Guard, as these services do have law enforcement duties, the NGs being authorized by their state governor, the Coast Guard by its maritime and regulatory policing missions. Of interest for the USCG, during peacetime it falls under the Treasury Department, but during wartime, falls under Navy control, I have not yet found any mention of if the Coasties lose their law enforcement authority.

Overall, the regular military would not be used to enforce the law, at least within the U.S., but there are plenty of Guardsmen who can be authorized to act as LEOs within their home state.

The question that next rears up is the MilGov/CivGov situation. Based on the T2K back history, MilGov is the legal government based on the Succession Act, CivGov has a rather shaky foundation, with no census and members of Congress "elected" in some rather illegal means, which then casts the legitimacy of the President into question, IMHO. However, I feel that both sides would try to avoid any martial law declarations, rather using FEMA and States "State of Emergency" declarations to place a veil of legitimacy on their actions. Complex? Yup! But it would appear to be legitimate and in keeping with the "Rule of Law".