A House committee is considering a bill to prohibit any kind of weapons on drones.
It was introduced by Rep. Rick Becker (R-Bismarck). He introduced a similar measure a few sessions ago. That bill was amended to only prohibit weapons of lethal force. Becker said he introduced the original measure again two years ago. And Becker said the House voted it down, despite testimony in favor of the bill from law enforcement.
"My guess is that we were still dealing with the DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) protests," Becker said.
Becker said during those protests, there was a lot of usage of drones.
"I think there was this feeling that, 'We don't want to touch that, or take away any options," Becker said.
Becker said now the state is past that.
"I hope we can now think with clear heads," Becker said. "I think it's reasonable to say, 'no weapons on drones.'"
Becker said to his knowledge, no weapons were on the drones used during the DAPL protest.
The bill is pending in the House Judiciary Committee.
