Form a State Militia

Posted by gravity_kills@reddit | CrazyIdeas | View on Reddit | 38 comments

"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." There is a tendency among the pro-gun folks to edit the first half of the second amendment out of existence, and that effort has been supported recently by the Supreme Court, but it doesn't have to be that way. There's a perfectly good reading available that puts the emphasis on the militia. In the absence of a formal militia the assumption seems to be that everyone implicitly belongs to a sort of militia of the spirit, even though that's clearly nonsense. So instead, what if a Democratic state went all in? Pass a law forming an official State Militia. Prospective members submit an application and application fee, and agree to the following: Comprehensive background check Mental health screening Mandatory safety training Semiannual inspection of the member's firearms Commit to maintaining in working order between one and five firearms from a specified list of approved models Once an official militia exists, simply bar private ownership or possession of any firearm by non-militia members, or by militia members of any unapproved firearms.