State Militias in Current Day America

Alright, so I'm not sure if this is in the right forum, my appologies if its not, please move it to the correct one if so.

Basically I'm looking for information on State Militias and how they exist/operate in current day America.

My questions include:

What states currently have Militias?
What are the responsiblities of the Militias, such as, is the Federal Gov capable of calling them up?
What types of weapons are Militia members allowed to privately owned?
What would it take to create a Militia?

Any links or any info that anyone can provide would be helpful...

I ask this in this forum because if the Fed were to go crazy on us then our Militias, if they even exist, would be our best defense and I would like to start conversation on them...

I also believe in any bad situation that arises, an organized Militia, by the people for the people, could be very helpful to all citizens.

Maybe not even State Militias, but a National Militia...


Thanks in advance,
XTexan

I will add in links found or given here just for quick reference

MA State Guard
TX State Guard

[edit on 13-8-2008 by XTexan]

[edit on 13-8-2008 by XTexan]

Modern day militias would immediately be designated domestic terrorists and thrown in prison.

Think underground, and a little less public

Originally posted by Scorched Earth
Modern day militias would immediately be designated domestic terrorists and thrown in prison.

Think underground, and a little less public

I hear what your saying and share that concern, though I feel that a large standing Militia would basically be "immune" to such charges if it were large enough and contained enough citizens...

Assuming the Militia was large enough, it would be more powerful than any police force that could be sent after it. A large standing force would also prevent the Fed from taking over as many are concerned about...

just my 2 cents

I believe that most modern state militias are now refered to as the National Guard.

Originally posted by JesterMan
I believe that most modern state militias are now refered to as the National Guard.

Ya, from everything that I've read it seems that way... I have so far found 1 state with a militia: Texas State Militia.

The National Guard is fine and all, but they a controlled by the Fed in the end, and get shipped around the world... I'm more interested in a group that stays in the States...

I know that Georgia and Tennessee both have state controlled militias. In Georgia it's called the state defense force (I think) in Tennessee i think its militia. States contrary to popular belief, states are permitted by the Constitution to have non-federaly supervised militias. Though the National Guard is nominally state controlled, the funding is largely federal hence why lots of time you hear Guard commanders talk about dual missions.

I know more about the Georgia one because they would occasionally came to visit our training when I was in the Georgia Guard. I don't believe they get any training at all and really only maintain armories while Guardsmen are activated. They may get some familiarity with the M-16/M-4 but I'm not even sure they are given that much training. I do remember them coming to see us shoot our Brads and Abrams while we were on the range. I only know that Tennessee has one because while on training up there one year I heard the TN guys talking about their militia.

[Edit to add this]

Xtexan the link you have about the Texas state militia, could be called "informal" at best. Further down in the page you link to is a link to The Texas State Guard this is what the officially santioned Millitias in GA and TN do as far as I'm aware of.

[edit on 12-8-2008 by jefwane]

Originally posted by jefwane
I know that Georgia and Tennessee both have state controlled militias. In Georgia it's called the state defense force (I think) in Tennessee i think its militia. States contrary to popular belief, states are permitted by the Constitution to have non-federaly supervised militias. Though the National Guard is nominally state controlled, the funding is largely federal hence why lots of time you hear Guard commanders talk about dual missions.

I know more about the Georgia one because they would occasionally came to visit our training when I was in the Georgia Guard. I don't believe they get any training at all and really only maintain armories while Guardsmen are activated. They may get some familiarity with the M-16/M-4 but I'm not even sure they are given that much training. I do remember them coming to see us shoot our Brads and Abrams while we were on the range. I only know that Tennessee has one because while on training up there one year I heard the TN guys talking about their militia.

Hmmm, interesting, thanks for that info jefwane. Its interesting that they dont recieve training, though I guess that comes with the territory of not being federaly funded... they would train themselves I suppose... Do you know if they had "mandatory meetings", or if they were supplied arms or if they are required to supply their own?

Originally posted by jefwane
Xtexan the link you have about the Texas state militia, could be called "informal" at best. Further down in the page you link to is a link to The Texas State Guard this is what the officially santioned Millitias in GA and TN do as far as I'm aware of.

Ya i thought that my self about the site, I didnt notice the State Guard link though, thanks for pointing that out to me...

[edit on 12-8-2008 by XTexan]

I am a former member of the MA Military Reserve/State Guard, I believe if you have a look at their current site it may answer some of your question about the role of SDFs/SGs:

mastateguard.com...

We took an oath naming the Governor as CiC and for service to the Commonwealth. As a former US Army soldier I can tell you it was almost the same as the Federal oath naming the President as CiC and service to the nation.

Some of the details I recall were that we could never be forced to serve outside the state, and we could not be paid unless activated and authorized by the Governor.

Our units were typically paired with Army National Guard units for training and we would do what they did and use the equipment they had, for the most part. Our missions were mainly security/MP duties but we trained with different Guard units ranging from Infantry to Quartermasters. The state guard didn't have any weapons assigned to them and used whatever the National Guard had available on a sign-off-per-weekend basis.

No, state militas would not be labeled as a terrorist organization.
I'm not sure where the other poster got that information, but it does get a chuckle for originality.

Many states have militia. Just look at the Minutemen who patrol the borders. They are a sort of militia, and are in no way, shape, or form a terrorist organization.

Remember, its your 2nd amendment rights to have a militia. It is also your right to defend that right with GUNS. I know many people that will not give up their guns or their right to militia without a fight. These I know as my "Good Ole Boys". Down here in Texas we got plenty of them.

The government never could take away all of our guns. If they tried, they would have alot of trouble on their hands.

And plus, any government that attempts to take all of our guns, needs to be overthrown anyways. That would be a pure violation of our Constitution, and it would be our duty to see that the tyranical government attempting to abridge those rights not be able to continue.

Remember, our country has always held the belief that it is the people that gives the government its power. We have always rebelled against governments that overstepped their bounds. We were the first colony to rebel and win independence.

I don't think we should follow blindly. We might have another rebellion looming in the future.

Originally posted by ThreeDeuce
No, state militas would not be labeled as a terrorist organization.
I'm not sure where the other poster got that information, but it does get a chuckle for originality.

I get my information directly from the FBI's own material, where do you get yours?







[edit on 13-8-2008 by Scorched Earth]

reply to post by ThreeDeuce


I hope you are correct that they wouldn't be labeled as such, I fear that the Gov may attempt such a thing in the future though. I also fear the interpretation of the 2nd amendment that some have, stating that you MUST be in a militia to gain that right... I would like to see enough of the population in Militias so that such an interpretation would be pointless...

The MA and TX State Guard seem to both have the clause that you won't be called overseas... I like that... Not that I don't support the military, but I like seeing an armed group that cannot be forced to answer Uncle Sams call...

I hope to return to Texas soon, and I will be one of the "Good Ole Boys" that you speak of... perhaps I will join the Militia to..

Thanks to the anonymous poster for providing that info also... I am going to start adding these links to my OP just for reference... please keep them coming!

reply to post by Scorched Earth


Thats actually kind of disturbing to see Scorched... kinda makes me think...

[edit on 13-8-2008 by XTexan]

Originally posted by Scorched Earth
I get my information directly from the FBI's own material, where do you get yours?

Obviously the Minutemen defending the borders could be classified as "Right Wing Extremists" as your little flyer states. They are not labeled as a terrorist organization.

Much opposite the fact, police organizations respect and work with this organization.

In this flyer, it sounds as if they are worried about Para military units looking to overthrow the government. This is not what a militia would be about.

Of course a militia could end up throwing over the government. But, the primary use of the militia is to defend one's property and neighbors when the government can not.

I personally am not going to wait for the government to come save me. Did you see how well they did during Katrina? The one thing the government actually did was take away the law abiding citizen's guns so they couldn't defend themselves from the armed criminals.

I guess its okay if you want to lay down and let the government trample all of the rights that you do have. However, I myself will not let that happen.

Remember, the power comes from the people. Do you really think the government would disarm a legal militia? I think the rules are here to stop terrorist organizations from meeting under the guise of a "militia".

As Heston said, "they can pry this gun from my cold dead hands" or something to that effect.

Edit: Note to XTexan:
I wanted to talk about your statement that Texas State Guard can't be deployed. I wanted to point out that there's a distinct difference between the state guard and the Texas State National Guard. The National Guard can get deployed as there is no part of the contract that prohibits it. It is at the will of the governor I believe (as the President can not control State Troops).
Now State Guard is a different orgainzation. Many times this is retired Army personnel that help with the training of new soldiers. The State Guard in my area are all Drill Instructors. They train the new soldiers before they go off to basic so they do not have as much shell shock from the rigors of basic training. I don't think the State Guard can be deployed at all, because they are completely voluntary and not under contract.
I could be mistaken, but this is all the information I have on State Guard.

[edit on 13-8-2008 by ThreeDeuce]

reply to post by ThreeDeuce


Yes thats what I'm looking for, Militia that can't be deployed (by the Feds)and is voluntary. The stronger a Militia that we have, the less power the Fed has over us...

Question: Does anyone know how many Militia members there are in the US?


[edit on 13-8-2008 by XTexan]

There's the New York Guard. I don't know much about it except that it can't be deployed and is independent from federal regulations.

Patriots have to live and operate underground these days, Just mention " Militia" to most anybody and they will relate that word to terrorism, because that is what the government has crafted it into. I am willing to bet that any and all militias in our country have government spies in them and or they are under close watch. A few years ago I looked up a militia where I live and although my state does have one it is almost non functional with only a handful of members. What I found is the best thing to do is locate and make contact with like minded people in your area and form an underground militia, with no paper trails and dont call yourselves a militia, and dont meet up for "training" meet up for "poker night"

Just wanted to update with a new link that has links to a lot of State Militias throughout the country. At the bottom of the page there are also links to the Minuteman Project and other border patrol and protection militias. Lots of good information...

Constitution.org

the only state militia I know of aside from those mention is the michigan Militia. They seem to be fairly outspoken.

We have one also.

en.wikipedia.org...

To borrow from Anuubis' avatar: Patriotism, you're either with us or a terrorist.

With no insult intended toward anyone serving in the military or state militias, I don't trust Uncle Sam as far as I can throw him. It's probably my personal paranoia that lends itself to the idea that within regards to, say, martial law, anyone serving in a state guard outside of federal jurisdiction would be branded a traitor if they resisted disarmament or disbanding of their militia.

In conditions that martial law provides for, the Constitution would be made null and void. Kiss your rights--including your right to bear arms and your rights of free speech--goodbye. You would no longer be a citizen; you would be a prisoner in your own country.

For that reason, in regard to any declaration of martial law, it would be up to members of a community to declare independence from those over them. That is our given right via the Declaration of Independence, so I find it decidedly convenient for Uncle Sam to make such documents of no effect by law if and when it decides it must suppress coming insurrection.

In other words, according to Uncle Sam, we live in a great nation founded by traitors to the British crown and champions of personal freedom, but damn if people who believe in those ideals try to leave us as a nation.

The American Civil War is such an example. Without commenting on the "right or wrong" of it all, the Confederacy wanted to secede from the nation. They didn't just start out going to arms; they declared independence through diplomatic means. Uncle Sam didn't care for it too much, so they set out to suppress what they considered insurrection. In other words, it was the Confederacy who found it necessary to defend themselves against the Union.

I would not join any militia that was sponsored by any form of government within the United States. Let me say this: as an American citizen, I have no wish to harm or hinder my countrymen. I would never join an organization that attempted to overthrow reasonable government. I would never be party to any sort of operation wherein innocents losing their lives or property was an acceptable part of the plan. I hold no ill will toward anyone around me.

However, I firmly believe that enacting martial law on a group of citizens who did not ask for it is an act of war against the ideals of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for those people. If the decision to enact martial law is not put to a vote by the citizens, it is an act of war. Acts of war by my own country on its citizens will not be acceptable, and I will gladly meet that act of war with equal oppression.

That is, a declaration of martial law would be met with a declaration of independence. All I would want at that point is reasonable accomodation to pack up and bug out, peaceably. If, however, the government felt my declaration of independence was an attempt at insurrection or treason, and they chose to meet that with forcible oppression, I would match their force, bullet for bullet.

If I am guilty of breaking a law, I consider myself reasonable enough to be taken into custody without incident. Even if I am accused of breaking a law but I am comfortable that my rights to jury and fair trial will be honored, I will gladly go in--they wouldn't even need restraints. If, however, I feel that my own government is threatening me, I will match their action with my reaction. Martial law would not be initially met with chaos and gunfire, but if they attempted to put me down for what I believe, I would defend myself with equal force.

Sorry for the rant, but this is an issue I have mulled over for years.