Why don't we have a militia in the United States?

Question

Bill of Rights,

Amendment II

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.

Answer 1

We have several militias here. The official militias are called reserve forces and National Guard. We also have unofficial militias as well. They are quite picky about who knows who they are and where they are. Our government keeps finding the unofficial militia and killing them, like Ruby Ridge and David Koresh. Not all militias are like those two, but our government, particuarly the FBI, aren't intelligent enough to see the difference.

Answer 2

We do, as the founders wrote, a militia is comprised of just about all of us, or rather all adults. Some said it was only men between certain ages, others said it was just about everyone, but it is obvious that the National Guard is just a portion of what the founders thought of as being the Militia. It is probable that the first two clauses of the 2nd amendment support the remainder of the sentence, in that, 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed' is pretty definite. If you look at the Federalist Papers and the contemporary writings it seems obvious that the founders believed implicitly that the right to bear arms was a major strength of America, and a major difference between America and Europe. Currently, it is obvious that the continuing trend towards 'will issue' concealed weapon permits, and the simultaneous downward trend in crime indicates that a well armed citizenry is a strong disincentive for violent crime.

Answer 3

There is a long history of militias in the United States, starting before the country became a country with the colonial militias normally consisting of all adult male citizens. This practice was continued after the signing of the U.S. Constitution, and remained relatively unchanged until the late 1800s. After the civil war, State guard units of select milita were created. After 1903 the militia was divided into two groups, unorganized and organized. Organized units were created from portions of the former state guards and became state National Guard units. Some states later created State Defense Forces for assistance in local emergencies. Privately organized militias, not affiliated with any government organization, and usually formed by citizens suspicious of the activities and politics of Federal and state governments, blossomed in the mid 1990s, then faded.

Answer 4

We do. In fact, there are probably 50 of them. Most, if not all, of the states have a State Militia (which is what the amendment says, after all), which is called out by the governor in case of emergency. Also, the National Guard is a federal militia, in effect. Basically, the idea is people who are not professional full-time soldiers, but who are available when they are needed.

Answer 5

This is a VERY good question especially in light of the terrorist threat. The USA has a military machine which could not be defeated in a frontal attack, but we are painfully weak within our society. The terrorists realize that we have many freedoms such as freedom from unreasonable search, etc and they may well be using these against us. It is my opinion that, if mosques in the USA were searched, many weapons would be found. With our military deployed far away, the defense of our nation rests in the hands of the National Guard and police. An internal uprising of well-armed zealots would be more than our present system could defeat. We need citizens to be armed and trained to deal with such an attack. I would like to see the guys who served in places such as Viet Nam train other citizens to deal with such an attack. Frankly, I believe it will come.

Answer 6

The National Guard is the "militia" in the US

Answer 7

There are several Militias in the U.S., but thank you for reading your Bill of Rights.

I'll ammend because of the National Guard responses:
Yes the N.G. is one
But also in many states you'll find citizen militias (Montana anyone?)

Answer 8

We do. They're called the National Guard and State Defense Forces.

Answer 9

True, the National Guard is a sort of Malitia, but we do need to train everyone in the country (like in Switzerland). I think that should be a required class in high school, Malitia Training. Very good question, that gets me thinking more than the other questions I've been asking lately. Thanks!

-Lella^_^

Answer 10

ITS CALLED THE NATIONAL GUARD NOW.
this for each state in the U.S.

Now terrorist/ anti-Govt Militias are not considered a Govt Militia.

Answer 11

We have a militia. It is called the national guard, whose job it is to protect the nation. however it is used for other reasons as well.