the right to a militia was made to protect the people from a tyranicle government. the second amendment will never be needed til it is taken away thomas jefferson said that.....i think
The entire point was for our servant government to fear the people; not the other way around. When people fear the government, you have tyranny.
No, the militia was created to provide a force defend the country (including the government) without the dangers to freedom posed by a large standing army. The militia has always been part of the government, not a check on the government. The militia has always been a force that is called out by the chief executive of a duly elected government.
During Shay's Rebellion, the government called out the militia to put down the insurrection. The militia is a force that would be used to keep the duly elected government in power. It never has been a check of any kind on the government.
Where in the constitution does it say that Captain Billy Bob of the Macon County Dragoons is empowered to call up his unit and march on the county courthouse, the state capitol or Washington DC if he sees the duly elected government doing things he deems unconstitutional? It doesn't. The constitution only empowers the government to call up the Macon County Dragoons (or any other militia unit).
We the people are the final arbiters of what's constitutional and what's not. But, the founding fathers have given us a framework and procedures in which we do that.
The United States Supreme Court has stated that the court has the final say as to what's constitutional and what's not. See Marbury v. Madison. So how is it that we the people are the final arbiters of what's constitutional? Quite simple, we the people elect the president who appoints justices to the court, and we the people elect the senators who confirm those appointments and put the justices on the bench.
We the people elect the congressmen and senators who write the laws. We have all kinds of input. We just don't choose to use it. And then people get on gun forums and talk big about forming militias when things don't go their way. I suppose that it makes some people feel better to think that themselves with their trusty SKS and a few close friends are a check on the government, but in reality private militias are so insignificant the government seldom bothers to enforce the laws against them in the states that have them. Believe me, it's not because they fear they'll start the next revolution by enforcing those laws. It's because private militias aren't a threat to anyone but themselves. When they do get to the point they become a threat they are crushed and the survivors jailed. Google CSA, Covenant Sword and Arm of the Lord for an overview of what happens when the government has enough of a private military organization.
States with Both Anti-Militia and Anti-Paramilitary Training Laws (7)
-Florida. FLA. STAT. ANN. ch. 870.06, 790.29.
-Georgia. GA. CODE ANN. ss 38-2-277, 16-11-150 to -152.
-Idaho. IDAHO CODE ss 46-802, 18-8101 to -8105.
-Illinois. ILL. REV. STAT. ch. 1805, para. 94-95.
-New York. N.Y. MIL. LAW s 240.
-North Carolina. N.C. GEN. STAT. ss 127A-151, 14-288.20.
-Rhode Island. R.I. GEN. LAWS ss 30-12-7, 11-55-1 to -3.
States with Anti-Militia Laws Only (17)
-Alabama. ALA. CODE s 31-2-125.
-Arizona. ARIZ. REV. STAT. ANN. s 26-123.
-Iowa. IOWA CODE s 29A.31.
-Kansas. KAN. STAT. ANN. s 48-203.
-Kentucky. KY. REV. STAT. ANN. s 38.440.
-Maine. ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 37-B, s 342.2.
-Maryland. MD. CODE ANN. art. 65, s 35.
-Massachusetts. MASS. GEN. L. ch. 33, s 129-132.
-Minnesota. MINN. STAT. s 624.61.
-Mississippi. MISS. CODE ANN. $ 33-1-31.
-Nevada. NEV. REV. STAT. s 203-080.
-New Hampshire. N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. s 111:15.
-North Dakota. N.D. CENT. CODE s 37-01-21.
-Texas. TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. s 431.010.
-Washington. WASH. REV. CODE s 38.40.120.
-West Virginia. W. VA. CODE s 15-1F-7.
-Wyoming. WYO. STAT. s 19-1-106.
States with Anti-Paramilitary Training Laws Only (17)
-Arkansas. ARK. CODE s 5-71-301 to -303.
-California. CAL. PENAL CODE s 11460.
-Colorado. COLO. REV. STAT. s 18-9-120.
-Connecticut. CONN. GEN. STAT. s 53-206b.
-Louisiana. LA. REV. STAT. ANN. s 117.1.
-Michigan. MICH. COMP. LAWS s 750.528a.
-Missouri. MO. REV. STAT. s 574.070.
-Montana. MONT. CODE ANN. s 45-8-109.
-Nebraska. NEB. REV. STAT. s 28-1480 to -1482.
-New Jersey. N.J. REV. STAT. s 2C:39-14.
-New Mexico. N.M. STAT. ANN. s 30-20A-1 to -4.
-Oklahoma. OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit. 21, s 1321.10.
-Oregon. OR. REV. STAT. s 166.660.
-Pennsylvania. 18 PA. CONS. STAT. s 5515.
-South Carolina. S.C. CODE ANN. s 16-8-10 to -30.
-Tennessee. TENN. CODE ANN. s 39-17-314.
-Virginia. VA. CODE ANN. s 18.2-433.1 to -433.3.
Forming or participating in a militia in any of the states listed makes you a criminal there. Once you do that your freedom is totally at the discretion of the government because you have broken the law.
The feds have usually gone after militia members for weapons violations as treason is a hard case to make. There is no federal law against private militias, but Presser v. Illinois certainly opened the door for one. This law was introduced in May of "Domestic Insurgency Act of 1995:
Amends the Federal criminal code to impose a fine and up to ten years imprisonment on whoever knowingly participates in a paramilitary organization. Defines a "paramilitary organization" as two or more individuals acting together, organized in a military or paramilitary structure, who knowingly: (1) possess firearms, explosives, incendiary devices, or other weapons or techniques capable of causing injury or death; or (2) provide or participate in training in the use of any such weapons or techniques with the intention that they be used unlawfully to oppose U.S. or State authority or for any other unlawful purpose."
Nothing stands in the way of congress passing similar legislation. However, they have enough tools in the Patriot Act to move on private militias any time they'd like.
You all can go ahead and talk militias and insurrection all you want. But now that I've explained how illegal it is, you can't do it here on THR, because we don't condone any criminal acts.
Ultimately the choice is yours.