5.2 Which states have laws regulating or prohibiting unauthorized paramilitary organization?
A. The New York Times (5/10/95) states:
"The rise of so-called militia organizations has come despite laws in 41 states that bar or regulate armed paramilitary groups...Twenty-four states have laws banning private military organizations or militias and 24, including 7 with anti-militia laws, have laws banning private paramilitary training that is meant to or likely to produce civil disorder ...There is a long legal history to militia issues, dating back to 1886 when the Supreme Court ruled in Presser v. Illinois that an Illinois law was constitutional."
The laws clearly distinguish paramilitary groups from Boy Scouts and hunting clubs organized for lawful purposes. They have been used to stop the KKK and other white supremacist organizations in the early 80's, and against the Texas Emergency Reserve in 1982. States without anti-militia OR anti-paramilitary laws are: Hawaii, Alaska, Utah, S.Dakota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Vermont, Delaware. [This list is not definitive - check your own state law]
The state laws fall into a number of categories. Some states have no laws regarding unauthorized military groups. Some, such as Connecticut, require the groups to register with the state and annually file a membership list. Others ban unauthorized military organizations regardless of the purpose of the organization. Some states only ban these organizations if the purpose of the group is meant to or likely to produce civil disorder. Many of these same states prohibit parading by unauthorized armed groups through towns or cities.
Here is a listing of the statutory sources for each state law.
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.