By Johannes P.
University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Glenn Reynolds argues in a column in USA Today that militias, as such, no longer exist in the United States, and that the country is worse off for it. Reynolds notes that the Second Amendment’s introductory phrase states that its objective is a “well-regulated militia” which is “necessary to the security a free state”. So, the Professor from the Volunteer State asks: where are the militias nowadays? . . .
“The Militia” definitely isn’t the National Guard. The real militias were quashed by Congress and the Wilson Administration after the latter tried (and failed) to order them to invade Mexico:
In 1912, when the federal government tried to send militia units into Mexico, the militias balked, noting that the Constitution allowed them to be called out only to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or enforce the law — not to invade other countries. Surprisingly, perhaps, Attorney General George Wickersham agreed, leading to a change in the law that produced the modern-day National Guard, a force that is not so limited. Since then, America has been far more active abroad.
To bolster his case, Professor Reynolds cites Yale Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar, who wrote about the militia in The New Republic (fifteen years ago, that is, when TNR actually was interested in arguing about ideas, before it started doing public relations full-time for the Obama Administration). Amar argued that the Second Amendment does have a collective application – but perhaps not in the way gun-grabbers think:
Like the militia, the jury was a local body countering imperial power — summoned by the government but standing outside it, representing the people, collectively. Like jury service, militia participation was both a right and a duty of qualified voters who were regularly summoned to discharge their public obligations. Like the jury, the militia was composed of amateurs arrayed against, and designed to check, permanent and professional government officials (judges and prosecutors, in the case of the jury; a standing army in the case of the militia). Like the jury, the militia embodied collective political action rather than private pursuits.
Professor Reynolds notes:
But although the militia survives in vestigial form in the statute books, as a functional institution, it no longer exists. For law enforcement, the militia has been replaced by professional police, with SWAT teams, armored vehicles and Nomex coveralls; for military purposes, the militia has been replaced by the National Guard, which despite a thin patina of state control is fundamentally a federal military force.
This makes life easier for the federal government.
Our Founding Fathers apparently thought the militias were a valuable check on government power, and something that should be maintained by the citizens of a healthy Republic. Committing to return to a militia system, however, would be a serious inconvenience for those of us who have chosen to keep and bear arms. It would require us to commit to train regularly and be subject to call-up at critical moments, taking people away from families and well-paying jobs. It’s much easier to hire professionals to do the work for us. Certainly, it’s more convenient for governments, who want military and police to obey lawful orders without question. Perhaps that’s why the pendulum swung away from citizen militias 100 years ago.
Your scribe highly respects what the Founding Fathers did, but the fact that they had an idea does not always make it the correct one today. I like the idea. I’d probably volunteer myself. But I have no illusions that there’d be considerable resistance to the idea — both from the people who oppose the right to keep and bear arms, but also from sheer inertia on the part of the many law-abiding gun owners who simply don’t want to be bothered with giving up their free time.
Would you be willing to give up your time and money to train – and be subject to call-up by municipal or state governments when needed, possibly without pay – to participate in a citizen militia, as discussed by Professors Amar and Reynolds? Or is the militia ideal truly dead in America?
Gutting the military and replacing it with a Swiss style militia, forbidden from operating overseas, would be a good start on our return to being a Republic instead of an Empire.
You shouldn’t “gut” the military, but it should be smaller mostly in the foreign aspect. Citizen Militias are a good idea. They should be free of government control and influence. The only time the government should be able to call on a milita is in the defense of FOREIGN enemies on US soil. Otherwise it would be pointless. It sucks, but militias should not recieve government funding of any kind due to conflict of interest and the principle of non-profit. Tax exempt status, not being subject to NFA, “constitutional carry”, and a percent based tax credit(with a cap) on items purchased by individuals related to the militia(guns, ammo, gear, cost of sites used for training, vehicles, and food/water stores). Being part of a militia should not be profitable, but costs should be minimal. If you want a true militia of dedicated, trained members the first step is to take away the profit being a reason to join.
>Would you be willing to give up your time and money to train?
Yes.
We need a militia that is not subject to the government. & we might have the start of one in CT. Otherwise, another lettered goverment agency to suppress citizens is(how can I put this)….silly.
I would be delighted to serve in a militia, just as I was eager to enlist in the Army shortly after my graduation from college. My grandparents were immigrants from Russia, and they insisted that all their male descendants should serve, for at least one enlistment, in the military. This was in gratitude for all the freedom and opportunity that this country had given them.
I would, in a heartbeat.
Being in the auto industry, I have a guaranteed 2 weeks off each year for longer/more intensive training, and I have most weekends off.
I would love for reliable, cost-effective guns to come on the market with features like this. I can see several applications for them, even if I am not interested in them, and think that they should be given a chance to sink or swim. It’s unfortunate that ridiculous politics end up stifling technology in this instance rather than promoting it.
But you know what? I kinda hope this triggers the ban in NJ. Because it’s hard to set up a better court case than to tell someone they have to buy THIS and only this handgun.
You mean like Obamacare?
Would you be willing to give up your time and money to train – and be subject to call-up by municipal or state governments when needed, possibly without pay – to participate in a citizen militia, as discussed by Professors Amar and Reynolds?
Yes. I already do.
“…I’ll report them as mentally unstable and they’ll get their FOID card taken away”
People don’t talk like that. I call bullshit, anonymous ambulance driver.
Do you know what “paraphrase” means, as in, “One nurse chimed in with this little tidbit (I’m paraphrasing)”?
I feel like we fought a war at some point that should allow us to ignore whatever Italy is whining about.
What a great study, with a scientific approach as opposed to seat of the pants feelings.
While it was informative there was a few parts missing. Such as the raw recoil distance numbers converted into angular momentum and then into a unit that makes sense for measuring force. ( Jules, Newton/Meter, ft/lbs) I would also suggest to the author that a measurement or calculation of the rate of change acceleration of the bullet would be required. Due to the fact that on the time scale of recoil, the bullet accelerates quickly when chamber pressure is high and more slowly when it nears the muzzle.
Unfortunately, I think the “militia” most of us are familiar with is the kind we see with a booth at the local gun show (preppers with white supremacist leanings playing paintball in the woods). While those folks are certainly free to associate, I have no desire to associate with them.
I’ve been in the Army and the National Guard, and I think a case could be made for reorganizing the National Guard into a real state militia. The article seems to imply there would be some type of mandatory obligation (similar to jury duty). That becomes problematic for the same reasons any compulsory service is problematic and potentially transfers substantial training and equipment costs from the federal government to the state.
I wouldn’t be unwilling to serve in a state militia (obviously, if I was in the Guard) provided it were effectively organized, trained and equipped. But I really don’t know what the impetus would be to reorganize the National Guard system back into a militia system.
What I haven’t seen any of the other posters mention is MANY states have militias. Virginia has a militia, Ohio has a militia. Just look online and you’ll see that most states have some form of militia, though it’s usually completely de-militarized in nature.
You beat me to it by 4 minutes. See my post below, 23 states have such forces, and most of them are “armed,” at least on paper.
“This makes life easier for the federal government.”
Am I supposed to care?
Back when the militia’s were in vogue, the whole notion of government itself was somewhat different. Politicians were also expected to be “citizen statesmen” who would serve for a term or two, then go back to their jobs. I doubt it was envisioned that there would develop an aristocracy like the Kennedy’s – or other political dynasties that are far removed from the populace. Or perhaps it was – hence the militias…..
If you used your google-fu properly, you would know that 23 states still have active State Defense Forces, which is probably the closest thing to the organized militias that we still have. My own State of Michigan still has such a force.
I don’t think (m)any of them really have a tangible focus on defense or arms training anymore, but technically they all still have such a commitment in their charters. Their activities tend to focus on disaster preparedness. I’ve considered joining mine, but I don’t have the time to commit. Maybe when the kids are older. But I’ve made a personal commitment that if we are ever involved in a declared war, the kind where our national sovereignty and survival is actually at stake, I will make sure my daily work supports the war effort. So if my services as a mechanical engineer can’t be steered in that direction, I’d be first in line to pick up a rifle. Or rather, a life preserver and a goofy hat, because I’m a Navy fanboy.
Ya know, I’d actually like to see an article comparing measured recoil of different pistol actions – to see if the different types have any noticeable effect. Does Hi-point’s blowback action increase felt recoil, or is that just a perceived difference? Likewise, does Beretta’s Px4 rotating barrel help alleviate recoil, or is there something more to it?
I just recently picked up a Px4 for a carry piece, and I seem to have a better time keeping that on target than my EAA Witness (both 9mm). Don’t know how much of that is due to the different action or just quality differences overall.
Would I give up my Job, time from my family and my money….HELL NO!!
I would. And I’m proud of Mr. Reynolds that Dept. where I majored in History 40 years ago.
Am I asking too much for a law “professor” to look up the damn law?? 10 usc 311.
Who is the militia? For the Feds: EVERYONE MALE AND UNDER 45 AND NOT IN THE GUARD
For the States: (usually) EVERYONE UNDER 65 AND NOT IN THE GUARD
10 U.S.C.
United States Code, 2011 Edition
Title 10 – ARMED FORCES
Subtitle A – General Military Law
PART I – ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS
CHAPTER 13 – THE MILITIA
Sec. 311 – Militia: composition and classes
From the U.S. Government Printing Office, http://www.gpo.gov
§311. Militia: composition and classes
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 14; Pub. L. 85–861, §1(7), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1439; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, §524(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1656.)
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title10/html/USCODE-2011-title10-subtitleA-partI-chap13-sec311.htm
WHAT PART OF THIS AM I MISSING???
Would I be willing? Yes. Does it matter? Not supposed to. It’s a compulsory thing you’ll remember. 🙂
Since the militia would have one and only one valid purpose — to resist government oppression and overreach — the G will never allow any militia to get off the ground.
The G’s propaganda machine has already convinced most low-IQ Americans that militias are nothing but a bunch of backwoods gangsters that must be crushed and destroyed right down to the last teenage boy, mother, infant and Golden Retriever.
So the idea of having a useful militia is a fantasy. If such a thing existed, the G would terminate it on sight with extreme prejudice.
You’re absolutely right. The government does not want more armed and trained people civically engaged.
I already give up my time and money to train.
I don’t know about the being called up part, I didn’t do so hot in the military with following orders, I doubt much has changed.
Great work here. And as someone who shoots a S&W 642 on a regular basis, yes, it recoils like a b1tch. Which is why it’s a terrible gun for new shooters or for use as a target gun.
The 642 is actually a contact and near-contact weapon. As such, its recoil is irrelevant.
Hmmm, that’s a funny looking Walther P22
The exploitation of situational power by “little” people is a fairly common part of the human experience. School administrators do it. Cops do it. The people at your local motor vehicle department do it. Petty bureaucrats all over the world do it. I guess that some nurses just want to get in on the fun.
I vote that the next giveaway be a nice Smith & Wesson .357 magnum, I’ve been wanting one for a while.
If Armalite had a pair, it would have released this announcement:
“We have recently been made aware that an advertisement utilizing the image of the statue of Michelangelo’s David with his circumcised johnson dangling while he’s holding a rifle was found to be offensive by certain nitwits and panty-sniffers.
“Well, too fvcking bad.”
Or “Well EXCUUUUUUSE ME.”
Excellent!!!! Confirms my experience with Glocks and 1911s.
Requires a Facebook login? Pass.
Guys, don’t click on a post if you don’t want to read it.
These re-posts are helping me be more discerning of what I read here.
Had my first time at the range yesterday with my S&W 1911SC, put 100 rounds down range. . No misfeeds or misfires. Accuracy was great. 10 yard groups about 3 inches, and I’m 72 years old. Not only beautiful but recoil is much lighter than my Springfield Ultra compact. my new favorite concealed carry
Great photo.
Come on folks! Contribute!
Looks like a well-regulated militiaman, if you ask me!
I am good to go. Where do I sign up?
I recently noticed when shooting my M&P45 that my strong hand thumb makes a huge difference in controlling recoil. Rise was much less when I pressed it on the side of the frame (as if I was riding an invisible safety) compared to just having it point forward.
Someone should do a test comparing the grip sizes and recoil with different size hands. That would be interesting. I prefer the large grip because I can get more of my left hand on the frame, but the medium backstrap allows me to wrap my right hand fingers more around the gun which seems like it would be better for one handed shooting.
A Connecticut officer with the Branford Police Department has reportedly been placed on extended leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation after he allegedly told a Facebook user he couldn’t wait to “bang down your door and come for your gun.”
Would you be willing to give up your time and money to train – and be subject to call-up by municipal or state governments when needed, possibly without pay – to participate in a citizen militia, as discussed by Professors Amar and Reynolds?
I’m already part of the unorganized militia. If my state were to ever organize us and wanted me to show up, I would.
Rights come with responsibilities, gents. It’s like jury duty.
We already have jury duty. It would not be any different. Besides, an armed society is a polite society. I would definitely volunteer, am 55 year old gulf war I vet…oh and did I mention a woman?
I dunno.. Sign me up.. Having a civi drill sergeant run me through laps, make me shoot, and keep my skills up to par seems kinda nice.. Especially if the state sponsors my ammo usage. I’d save money on ammo and a gym membership. Call up should be voluntary, but I’d certainly want to help if there was a problem locally.
A81 doesn’t look nearly psychotic enough to be a frothing-at-the-mouth gun owner or a CHP trooper! I call BS! :p
Where are all the haters claiming he is using the dogs as pawns in his political statement?
Like the folks hating on the pictures of children… Bueller… Bueller…?
How can anyone win a gun that doesn’t really exist except on the ethernets?
Why the phuck would I want to meet Zimmerman? And he’s probably charging for signatures and hand shakes.
God, this guy just does not know how to GO THE F AWAY.
Soldiers in more than 130 countries, more than 270 military bases around the world, hundreds of millions spent on boats, guns, tanks and planes. We have garrisoned the planet and make no mistake about it when politicians say we must do this to protect our interests they are talking about the interests of the rich and powerful and the corporations. In spite of all of the above on 911 a small group of crazies armed with box cutters, a tool I can buy for about four bucks at the local hardware store, hijacked airliners and killed thousands of our citizens. Seems to me that one incident might give a thinking person pause and to reconsider what we are doing in the world militarily.
Idk if it’s like this anywhere else, but in Ohio, this only applies if a Judge rules you mentally incompetent or you are involuntarily sent to a mental institution by a court. I find this scenario of the nurses hard to follow through if you get your say in a court…with a lawyer…that we should all have on hand anyway if we carry.
One thing I can almost agree with President Obama on is that he said has close to zero tolerance for “professional blacks” (not black professionals) like Sharpton, Jackson, and their ilk whose whole careers revolve around throwing down the race card at every opportunity. Nevermind that he is one himself.
Ironic, since Obama IS a professional black.
“This is my rifle, this is my gun…”
Thanks for sharing such a good thinking, post is nice, thats why i have read it fully
Unfortunately I’m (close to) hometown loyal. Founder’s Brewing Company. For a light taste their Noble is delicious. And if you’re into dark, Backwood’s Bastard cannot be beat. A dark ale aged in a used scotch barrel….
I’m a fan of the Centennial. Also have a couple cellared bottles of the KBS that might be about mature.
If I want something lighter, more average, for lack of a better word, I generally buy something from KBC and keep the money local.
I like Dirty Bastard myself. Hard to find around here, though.
I’m a militia of one.
Whenever I see Al Sharpton’s name I now remember this “http://youtu.be/kcpE2XeUjlg” and just assume he stole it from somebody else that said it first.
Is Kennedy seriously entertaining the idea of putting the ban on hold while the case is fought out in court?
Read the Cato Institute amicus brief in Drake, presently pending at SCOTUS. Cato posed the question:
“Was this Court serious in District of Columbia v. Heller when it ruled that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms?”
Good question. Between Drake (petition for cert under consideration) and Abramski (opinion due), we will know the answer.
“…this website adheres to its brand remit like Lamborghini…”
Like Ferrucio’s Lamborghini, Rosetti-Leimer’s Lamborghini, Chrysler’s Lamborghini, Setdco/VPower’s Lamborghini, or Audi’s Lamborghini?
Just curious which one…
Without stand your ground a black person could be legally and peacefully spending time in a predominantly white area and a group of white people could attack him and it would be his responsibility to not meet force with force and defend himself. Rather he should do his best to run away because if he does fight back and injure or kill one of the white aggressors, then he could be brought up on charges so it’s better not to even try. Think about that AL Sharpton and for that matter, thinking that this is a law that targets blacks is racist by assuming that blacks will be the aggressors threatening someone’s life.
I’m torn on this issue. The tenth amendment is in play here on the states side. However retroactive laws are not really, well, legal. Also the arbitrary 10 round number is bs. What magazine company makes 10 round mags? Or at least did before these laws came about? Also it puts a hardship on internet based companies as well.
In the absence of guiding law the State will take it’s turn at legislation. Magazines vary greatly in size, function, and practically dozens of calibers but I fear the movement will try to have all magazines banned since they allow a firearm to be reloaded quickly.
And then we will see the 16 shot revolver.
Oh what a wicked web we weave. These cops if ordered to go house to house , if they are smart enough, will have to watch their backs for the rest of their lives. However this turns out. OBTW,
For the NSA/.gov snoops, I hope before it never escalates to bloodshed, they realize they will be the ones to start it, we will be the ones to finish it. Gun owners are already portrayed in the MSM, as Bible carrying, knuckle dragging gun owners. That won’t change if the “man” gets froggy.
However, history will remember those that stood against many, refused the will of an unconstitutional tyrant, and reminded a nation not one more inch.
It will pass the House easily (again), but it will only get 57 or 58 votes of the 60 it will need in the Senate. That way, it never becomes law, but it still gives Senate Democrats and RINOs who are in trouble at home the opportunity to show how deeply and sincerely devoted they are to our rights. It will give MAIG and Moms Demand Money the opportunity to preen. It will give the NRA another battleground. And it will give us nothing.
Legislative theater at its best. What a con job.
Lulz. Sounds like a bunch of non-gunners are trying to buy a bunch of gun companies and build smart guns, because they saw one in the last 007 movie and that seemed totally legit and the wave of the future.
There’s too many buzzwords for any actual intellect to be behind that press release.
I’d be in a lot of trouble if my music collection came to light in a shooting trial. No rap, mind you, and I never deluded myself into thinking I could write lyrics, but I have a massive collection of black and death metal CDs that make Slayer look like Raffi.
Not to mention that, with metalheads, it seems the more extreme and violent the music they’re into, the more laid back they are (outside of The Pit). I took six years of mostly squandered E-1 to E-4 paychecks and turned them into three years of basically drinking and going to concerts. I saw one fight almost break out at a metal show.
On the other hand, the sellout rich ex-hippies that turned up to see The Moody Blues were aggressive, rude, quite violent in several incidents, just the absolute worst crowd I ever personally witnessed. I particularly remember one middle-aged, olfactorily stoned and audibly drunk, woman irate that they couldn’t make her a custom shirt on the spot (security had to get involved). And there was another similarly, but more extremely, impaired woman who even managed to make Graeme Edge laugh with her cry of, “Play ‘Nights in White…’ oh, you just did.”
And to qualify that “sellout rich ex-hippie” remark, most of the guys in the crowd were dressed like they were either just leaving the office or on the way to the country club. I have no problem with selling out, being rich, or even having once been a hippie, but heaven forbid that an audience member show up to a rock concert with jeans, a t-shirt, and long hair. By the second confrontation, I went to my favorite conflict resolution tactic, the “I know something you don’t” expression, which has served me very well throughout life. There was no third time.
As an aside, that concert was, despite the audience, amazing. It’s only three of the original members, but they find more than competent musicians to fill the gaps. As an aside to the aside, I actually did go with my parents, but I invited them, not the other way around.
Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, I’m sort of with the ACLU on this one. The “Folsom Prison Blues” comparison is rather apt. If Stephen King kills a jaywalker because he didn’t see them (almost could have been me tonight, kid ran out from behind a snowbank) is Christine admissible as evidence? Or Maximum Overdrive?
Did a quick comparison of text of bill to the Senate one introduced by Ayotte. Seems essentially the same with a few variations. Not being a lawyer I don’t know the implications of these differences. Would have to be ironed out in conference.
2nd Amendment as the founding fathers would word it today.
http://www.constitution.org/2ll/schol/2amd_grammar.htm
My son wants to return a hand gun to me. He is in another state and works for a FFL dealer. Can he ship it directly to me, as I am the registered owner, or must he ship to a FFL in my state? Confusing…
Thanks for your help.
“Civilians are well advised to choose a self-defense gun that doesn’t require a lot of thought,”
If someone is not giving a lot of thought to their gun they shouldn’t be carrying period. I’ve see cops who got their windbreaker drawstrings caught in the finger guard of their carry guns that don’t have external safeties and shot themselves. Why not better teach people to use it rather than bitch about it and belittle it.
I’ll just keep buying Rugers and milsurps, as usual.
The Tapco connection concerns me, tho.
They just make non-gun-people think you are strange. Same as the “stand strong” photos and such.
Cue OC fanatics to rush to the defense of the two lads.
I pity the poor Teachers who have those two jack wagons for students. Dumber than a bag of hammers, to quote Ulysses Everett McGill.
I’m looking to find out as much about the online surfing community as I can. Can anyone recommend their favorite blogs, twitter handles, or sites that you find most comprehensive? Which ones are most popular? Thanks!.