Friday, March 26, 2021

Intentions Good; It May Not Work As Intended

 3/23/21 Columbia [S.C.] Post and Courier:

COLUMBIA — A Statehouse proposal aimed at ensuring South Carolinians can keep their weapons no matter what gun-control measures the White House or Congress might take won early backing in the state Senate. 

The idea is to direct the unorganized militia to be armed.  This may not be the solution they want.  Why?  Art. I, sec. 8 provides that the powers of Congress include:

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Art. I, sec. 2:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;

Congress could direct the unorganized militia under "disciplining" to place all arms or specifically "weapons of war" in National Guard arsenals until the President called the unorganized militia into national duty. President Biden could call unorganized militia into national duty (like during the Whiskey Rebellion), order them into formation with orders to hand over weapons.

The best hope is to constitute all citizens as members of the state defense forces which are not part of the National Guard or the unorganized militia.  They are under direction of the governors alone.

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