A different take on the 2A?

[Jiminvirginia]

Saw this somewhere and it got me thinking. Where it refers to a "well regulated militia" the militia means the army. What "regulates" it is the armed populace. This counters the anti gun crowd saying we dont need a militia and therefore we dont need the 2A. Thoughts?

[Roadkingtrax]

Research the word "militia" in its historical context, and you will find it meant the general population, or men expected to come to the common defense.

Today, it's all over national guard bumper stickers. The state guard of today is more of a standing army than ever.

[Vern Humphrey]

State defense forces (SDF; also known as state military, state guards, state militias, or state military reserves) in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.

State defense forces are distinct from their state's National Guard in that they cannot become federal entities.

[Jiminvirginia]

State defense forces (SDF; also known as state military, state guards, state militias, or state military reserves) in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.

State defense forces are distinct from their state's National Guard in that they cannot become federal entities.

From what I have seen SDFs are hardly any kind of "force".

[Roadkingtrax]

From what I have seen SDFs are hardly any kind of "force".

Apparently there are only 21 active State Defense Forces. If you look at the map, it looks like something out of a post-1865 US history book.

[Vern Humphrey]

From what I have seen SDFs are hardly any kind of "force".

They aren't meant to be more than security troops. The Virginia Defense Force, for example, has the mission of guarding the gates at the Newport News Shipyard when the rent-a-cops are drafted and unavailable.

[Jiminvirginia]

Its actually interesting stuff. I just read that National Guard units can enforce domestic laws when directed by the Governor. Yet when the Federal Gov calls them into service they are considered Federal troops.

[blackhawknj]

During the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s governors would call out their National Guard to prevent court ordered desegregation, etc. The President would then Federalize them and require to enforce the orders they had been mobilized to block.
Among the meanings of "well regulated" was that the militiaman provided his own weapon-it was HIS. But the one he brought to muster could not be of "bastard bore"-it had to conform to the military standard of the day, usually the .75 caliber of the Brown Bess.

[Vern Humphrey]

Its actually interesting stuff. I just read that National Guard units can enforce domestic laws when directed by the Governor. Yet when the Federal Gov calls them into service they are considered Federal troops.

Correct on both counts. The governor can use the military forces at his disposal, but the Federal government using them that way violates the Posse Comitatus Act.

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During the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s governors would call out their National Guard to prevent court ordered desegregation, etc. The President would then Federalize them and require to enforce the orders they had been mobilized to block.
Among the meanings of "well regulated" was that the militiaman provided his own weapon-it was HIS. But the one he brought to muster could not be of "bastard bore"-it had to conform to the military standard of the day, usually the .75 caliber of the Brown Bess.

The US standardized the French Charleville after the Revolution. The first US-made standard musket, the Model 1795, was a copy of the Charleville (and that's the musket depicted in the Infantry insignia.) However, while government-made muskets were issued to states and kept in state armories, militia units by and large did not have military weapons. They either used their own hunting rifles and shotguns, or swapped them for government issue when called up.