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[HassleCat]

205. I agree with you

I believe the "well regulated militia" clause is very important for a couple reasons.

It ties the 2nd Amendment to Article 1. “The Congress shall have Power To ...provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions...” Article I, Section 8, Clause 15. The problem is, the ide of the militia has been interpreted by the courts to mean everybody capable of using a weapon. Thus, gun owners claim, "We are the militia because we own firearms," and the courts back them up. I think there is enough wiggle room in there to restrict the type and number of weapons a person can own, but I would be laughed out of court on that one. In my opinion, many of the people who describe themselves as "the militia" would be completely useless in a crisis. If they were called to defend their fellow citizens, they would only do so if it satisfied their political criteria. What do you think would happen if this "militia" were called to defend black people against a police department that wanted to shoot them down? What would happen if we had a repeat of the civil rights crisis, and "the militia" were asked to escort black children to integrate public schools? What would happen if President Obama, known to many of "the militia" as "the ni33er in chief," tried to call them up to defend the country?

If we were serious abut the militia clause, we would demand every citizen who owns firearms show up once a year for training in militia procedure. We would know how to contact them, what kind of weapons they would bring, what useful skills they had in other areas, etc. In my view, this would be perfectly legal, because we would not register their guns, or even make a list of all the guns they have. We certainly would not take away any of their guns. In fact, if they were inadequately armed, we might send them home with a better weapon and a supply of ammunition, the way they do in Switzerland. The way I look at it, owning firearms is a very bold extension of individual rights, and it carries some obligations.