In 1775 the people that would later be known as Americans had had enough. They wanted a government in which they could make their own laws and elect their leaders. Common citizens banded together in militias in order to take on the largest military empire in the world. And they succeeded. In the spirit of this, an amendment was made to the constitution guaranteeing that future generations would be able to do the same. It reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. Today, most people think of the second amendment as the written law giving them the right to bear arms. However, this article won’t focus on firearm laws. Instead, this article will be about what a “well regulated militia” would look like today.
The first thing a militia needs is purpose. A cause to gather behind and to fight for. The Revolutionary War was fought to free colonies of an oppressive regime, to have the right to determine their own laws and political structure. The militias were what enabled people to fight for their rights. During the formation of the new government, a faction emerged known as the Anti Federalists. They believed that a large centralized government could gain too much power over individual states and from there it would be a short slippery slope to tyranny. For our modern militia, let’s give them the same goal. They want to uphold and protect the rights of the people and ensure that everyone has the ability to do the same. It sounds like a good goal to have, something honorable and noble that everyone could agree on. Unfortunately, what this actually means is up for debate and we’ll see how it’s a major problem later on.
The next thing a militia needs, assuming they have the people to wield them, are weapons. This is why we have the right to bear arms. It also brings us into the first challenge that a modern militia would have. Let’s assume that our government has become corrupt, this new militia will be fighting against the largest and best funded military the world has ever known. They have soldiers, guns, explosives, tanks, ships, submarines, drones, nuclear weapons, the list goes on and on. If it exists the US military probably has it. What weapons would ordinary citizens have to be able to own to have a militia to fight against that kind of power? Would you want anyone and everyone to have access to that potential of devastation? It’s easy to see how quickly this idea falls apart based on practicality alone. For the sake of argument however, let’s continue with the notion that a modern militia wouldn’t need all of this. To be accurate to today we should assume a modern militia is only armed with weapons civilians can legally own.
The National Rifle Association prides itself on being staunch supporters of the second amendment. They represent the voice in the government that speaks out against gun control and would ensure modern militias were able to access the equipment they needed. However, there is one slight problem with this. The NRA hasn’t always been against gun control, in fact it’s only since around the 1970’s that their platform resembled something we would recognize today. One of the large contributors to the NRA supporting gun control was a citizens militia that was founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They called it the Black Panthers and the idea was simple. In order to protect themselves and the black community, the Black Panthers started organizing groups of people to patrol their neighborhoods. Can we begrudge them wanting to make sure their homes and families were safe? Apparently, yes. In the summer of 1967 the Black Panthers marched on the California state capitol in response to the tightening gun laws aimed at the African American population. This ultimately resulted in a piece of legislation called the Mulford Act being passed in the state senate. With the support of the NRA the state government made it illegal for anyone to carry a loaded firearm in public places. If we think about this in the context of today’s world, we arrive in a moral conundrum due to something called the reflective principle. It’s really quite simple, if we accept an action as being moral, then we must deem similar acts moral as well. Would the NRA keep their position if it was allowing a militia of Islamic citizens to gain weapons that could take on the government? If there were an organized Islamic militia, how would the country react? What about a Christian militia? Now, hopefully this is where people would say our militia is rising up to protect the rights of everyone not just certain groups. In theory that’s what should happen. Does it though?
Do current modern militias uphold the ideas of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people? Two of the most well known modern civilian militias are the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. The Three Percenters are an organization that claims to be pro government, under the condition that the government upholds the constitution. On face value, this seems like what our modern militia would want to be. However, it may be more accurate to say the Three Percenters are pro government as long as the government agrees with them. The support for civilian militias like the Three Percenters and Oath Keepers skyrocketed after the election of Barack Obama. They claimed the Democrats were undermining the rights of the people. Then we get to the Oath Keepers. In their own words, the Oath Keepers are dedicated to protecting the constitution and the against both foreign and domestic threats. Threats that include the likes of Hillary Clinton and John McCain. The Oath Keepers biggest enemy is the government. Their website makes it clear that if you have the desire to join them, there are thousands of former and current first responders as well as military members to guide you on your way. However, there’s a long history of violent crimes associated with Oath Keepers going back to 2010. In order to remain unbiased, these acts must be seen as outliers or extremists.
The most recent and notable actions undertaken by citizen militias was in Charlottesville, Virginia. During the Charlottesville protest, citizen militiamen lined the streets dressed in bulletproof vests carrying rifles. They claimed to be out in order to keep the peace, however it is widely held they were there to protect the white supremacist protesters. They were heavily armed enough though to be mistaken as the National Guard. The governor of Virginia was hard pressed about why there wasn’t more of a police presence. His answer was that local authorities estimated 80% of the riflemen had semi automatic weapons and tensions were so high that if the police began marching in, the risk of inciting violence would have been too high.
The right to protest is inalienable, even if at times the protests are for something crude and uncivilized. However, it is the job of the police to protect people when they protest. Once again the reflective principle comes into play. If ranks of armed black men marched down the street during a Black Lives Matters protest, the resulting chaos and vilification would be unimaginable. Furthermore the motives of groups like the Oath Keepers are brought into question. During the last presidential election they asked members to go to polling locations and make note of and report any suspicious activity that they felt might skew the election. While it was stated to document any fraud, the focus should be on the Democrats who would try and “steal” Trumps’ rightful election. After he was elected, the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters had a different enemy in sight. While the government was still to be watched carefully, the new threat was the Islamic population and illegal immigrants. In the kindest light they can be seen as acting to defend people’s rights, but the category of people isn’t quite as large as you might think.
In the end what would a modern militia look like today? It would look like division and discrimination. A group would form to defend their rights and another would form to protect themselves from that group. Modern militias do not work, practically or morally. It is not practical for the police to be unable to enter an area during a protest because there are too many heavily armed civilians walking the streets.The second amendment is a complicated debate. It’s amazing how many interpretations and complications can arise from a few sentences that were written centuries ago. However, one thing seems to stand out, the second amendment is about self defense. To protect one another, not to have to protect ourselves from one another. Actions that are undertaken by these militias show their intent, and it is not protecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. In concept these organizations could be a valuable asset to society, but like most good ideas they have been executed poorly.
- Strasser, R. (2017, June 05). Second Amendment. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment
- BBC. (2016, January 08). US gun control: What is the NRA and why is it so powerful? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35261394
- Watson, K. (2018, February 22). NRA’s Wayne LaPierre makes it clear he isn’t backing down on guns — or the culture wars. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nra-wayne-lapierre-delivers-remarks-at-cpac-live-stream/
- The National Archives. (n.d.). The Bill of Rights: A Transcription. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript
- Duncan, G. A. (2018, April 12). Black Panther Party. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party
- Southern Poverty Law Center. (n.d.). Oath Keepers. Retrieved from https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keepers
- Michel, C., Shenon, P., Alberta, T., & Grunwald, M. (2017, August 17). How Militias Became the Private Police for White Supremacists. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/17/white-supremacists-militias-private-police-215498
- Coleman, A. L. (2016, July 29). National Rifle Association’s Change on Gun Control in 1970s. Retrieved from http://time.com/4431356/nra-gun-control-history/