So-called “militia” groups have come to the forefront of US politics in recent years. They’re drenched in faux “patriotism”, decked out in ‘tactical’ gear, and just LOVE to engage in theatre with their military-grade weaponry. When interviewed by the media, these Vanilla ISIS folks often suggest that they are fulfilling a protective and/or law enforcement role.
Unfortunately, there’s one fact about these so-called “militia” groups that, for whatever reason, has not received particular attention from the media, namely this:
All 50 states prohibit private groups from assuming any role reserved to the state militia, including law enforcement.
Of course, the means of this prohibition will differ from state to state. In my state, Kentucky, the prohibition is twofold. First, Sections 219-223 of the Kentucky constitution define the state’s militia in very specific terms, placing it squarely under government control (via the Adjutant General) and requiring it to “conform as nearly as practicable to the regulations for the government of the armies of the United States.” A separate statute, Kentucky Revised Statues 38.440, then limits the matter even further (emphasis added):
(1) Except as permitted in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section, no persons other than the Kentucky National Guard or Kentucky active militia shall associate together as an armed company or drill or parade with arms without permission from the Governor.
(Sections 2-4 of the statute create exceptions for veterans service organizations, JROTC/ROTC cadets, and persons participating in specific historical reenactments of the 1700s/1800s to parade/drill in public. There’s nothing there to support what these “militia” types claim to be.)
It’s going to be very hard for the various Meal Team Six groups in Kentucky to argue that they do not ‘associate together as an armed company’, especially when they’re traveling together and/or wearing identifying articles (like the armbands in the title picture of this story). Of course, all of their social media activity depicting their meetings, training, etc. will only serve as further evidence of their illegal activity.
There are some who suggest that the Second Amendment supersedes any state legislation on the question of militia, but those persons are quite incorrect. The US Supreme Court, in Presser v. Illinois (1886), explicitly ruled (emphasis added):
A state statute providing that all able-bodied male citizens of the state between eighteen and forty-flue, except those exempted, shall be subject to military duty, and shall be enrolled and designated as the state militia, and prohibiting all bodies of men other than the regularly organized volunteer militia of the state and the troops of the United States from associating together as military organizations or drilling or parading with arms in any city of the state without license from the governor as to these provisions is constitutional, and does not infringe the laws of the United States [...]
Unless restrained by their own constitutions, state legislatures may enact statutes to control and regulate all organizations, drilling, and parading of military bodies and associations except those which are authorized by the militia laws of the United States.
The good folks at Georgetown University Law School’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection have put together fact sheets for all 50 states, outlining each state’s specific prohibitions against these Camo Cosplay Clowns...oh, sorry, meant to say “against private paramilitary organizations.” So, the first step is to grab your state’s fact sheet from this page and become familiar with your state’s law on the matter.
What’s next?
It’s easy to ask, “Well, if they’re illegal, why haven’t they been arrested?”, but answering that question can be tricky. Obviously, we don’t want to provoke public firefights with folks carrying an infantry squad’s worth of firearms and ammunition, especially in areas with many innocent bystanders; that may explain the lack of public arrests. My response is this — OK, so what prevents law enforcement from taking their pictures, identifying them, and then arresting them at their homes or workplaces when they AREN’T wearing all their gear? After seeing the FBI do just that with the Capitol insurrectionists, I think it a fair question to ask our state-level executives and law enforcement agencies, like so:
The other thing we can do — and all of us can work toward this goal — is to change how the media describes these people. All we have to do is persuade them to preface any mention of “militia group” with the word “illegal”. If anything, this makes their reporting even more accurate AND gives them an additional line of questioning for any Y’all-Qaeda who decide to speak with them. Personally, I’d like to see one of our local III% clowns on camera when asked, “So, are you aware that meeting as an armed company is a specific violation of Kentucky law?” I’m sure we’d see a foaming, frothing response rant of epic proportions. So, let’s call them out — even better, let’s hold up their peers who change the narrative:
So, contact your media. Write a letter to the editor saying something like, “You covered this group, and their actions are illegal under [insert your state’s law here] — why don’t you refer to them as “illegal militia group”?” If you use social media, comment on every armed appearance of your local “militia” with “you know these people are breaking state law, right?” If you have an elected official who actually meets with these armed bozos, tag their tweets/Facebook with “so, Senator Gobbledygook meets with blatant lawbreakers...”
Let’s change the narrative — starting with our own public commentary.