South Carolina Senator Suggests Everyone Be Made Militia Member
By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press -- COLUMBIA, South Carolina
March 23rd 2021 — A South Carolina senator has a proposal to make sure no federal law can ever seize guns — make everyone over seventeen who can legally own a gun a member of a militia.
South Carolina's constitution allows the governor to call up an “unorganized militia" of any “able bodied male citizens” between ages 18 and 45. State Sen. Tom Corbin's proposal would automatically expand membership to everyone who is over 17 and could own a gun.
Supporters of the bill said if everyone is a member of a militia, then they all fall under the opening clause of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that starts “A well regulated Militia." That way a federal law restricting weapons would not apply in South Carolina since almost all residents would be in the unorganized militia.
“That would prevent the federal government from ever confiscating any of your weapons. Because at the end of the day, the federal government cannot disarm a standing army," said Corbin, a Republican from Travelers Rest.
No one showed up to speak about the bill at a Tuesday Senate subcommittee meeting and the meeting was not streamed on the Internet like many of them during the pandemic.
The subcommittee approved the bill 2-1 on party lines. It will move on the a full committee meeting Wednesday.
Tuesday’s meeting was scheduled before the shootings Monday at a Colorado grocery store that killed 10 people. Democratic Senator Kevin Johnson reminded fellow senators of that mass killing and another the previous week where eight people were shot to death at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area.
Johnson said he supports gun rights and he, his wife and three children all have concealed weapons permits, but the bill seemed like a solution seeking a problem.
“Y’all, this country is crazy. We have homegrown terrorists. I’m sure those folks who stormed the Capitol on January 6th probably felt they were members of some type of militia," said Johnson from Manning.
The proposal would allow unorganized militia members to carry any weapons legally allowed at the end of 2020. Anyone who does not want to be a member of the militia could resign and “resume his civilian status,” according to the bill.
The unorganized militia is long in history and short in use in South Carolina's 245 years. The state constitution created it.
Read more at: https://www.usnews.com/news/politic...ator-suggests-everyone-be-made-militia-member
By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press -- COLUMBIA, South Carolina
March 23rd 2021 — A South Carolina senator has a proposal to make sure no federal law can ever seize guns — make everyone over seventeen who can legally own a gun a member of a militia.
South Carolina's constitution allows the governor to call up an “unorganized militia" of any “able bodied male citizens” between ages 18 and 45. State Sen. Tom Corbin's proposal would automatically expand membership to everyone who is over 17 and could own a gun.
Supporters of the bill said if everyone is a member of a militia, then they all fall under the opening clause of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that starts “A well regulated Militia." That way a federal law restricting weapons would not apply in South Carolina since almost all residents would be in the unorganized militia.
“That would prevent the federal government from ever confiscating any of your weapons. Because at the end of the day, the federal government cannot disarm a standing army," said Corbin, a Republican from Travelers Rest.
No one showed up to speak about the bill at a Tuesday Senate subcommittee meeting and the meeting was not streamed on the Internet like many of them during the pandemic.
The subcommittee approved the bill 2-1 on party lines. It will move on the a full committee meeting Wednesday.
Tuesday’s meeting was scheduled before the shootings Monday at a Colorado grocery store that killed 10 people. Democratic Senator Kevin Johnson reminded fellow senators of that mass killing and another the previous week where eight people were shot to death at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area.
Johnson said he supports gun rights and he, his wife and three children all have concealed weapons permits, but the bill seemed like a solution seeking a problem.
“Y’all, this country is crazy. We have homegrown terrorists. I’m sure those folks who stormed the Capitol on January 6th probably felt they were members of some type of militia," said Johnson from Manning.
The proposal would allow unorganized militia members to carry any weapons legally allowed at the end of 2020. Anyone who does not want to be a member of the militia could resign and “resume his civilian status,” according to the bill.
The unorganized militia is long in history and short in use in South Carolina's 245 years. The state constitution created it.
Read more at: https://www.usnews.com/news/politic...ator-suggests-everyone-be-made-militia-member