Last Updated on January 16, 2023 by Constitutional Militia
Constitutional Role of the Militia
The Militia are the only constitutional structures that are given explicitly the authority to “execute the laws”.[1] That power is not given to the Army or the Navy. The “Department of Homeland Security”, the “FBI”, and other alphabet agencies did not exist when the Constitution was ratified and are not constitutional entities in any event. The only constitutional entity that is given the direct and explicit authority to “Execute the Laws of the Union” is “the Militia of the several States”, which are not any part of the various “State Defense Forces” or National Guard.
The Constitutional Role of the Militia
The constitutional role of the State’s Militia is to fulfill three explicit duties—which are performed at the State level outside the jurisdiction of the General Government, and also within the jurisdiction of Congress and the President when “employed in the service of the United States”.[2] So the Militia serve a dual constitutional role at the State and national level, which is to
• “execute the Laws of the Union” (police function)
• “suppress Insurrections” (para-military function)
• “repel Invasions” (military function) [3]
Constitutionally the Militia have a national role to perform within the federal system, but it’s a limited one. Congress is given two basic powers with respect to the Militia:
Constitutional “Homeland Security” is “[a] well regulated Militia” based upon the right of the people to keep and bear Arms“—which are the only institutions recognized to be “necessary to the security of a free State”—Second Amendment.
Once the “individual right” theory—disconnected from Militia service—of the Second Amendment became en vogue, “gun control” was born and has been making gains ever since.