Philip F. Lee wrote:
The militia is essentially a passive organization which should operate
only when called by proper authority or in a dire emergency but still
under the authority extablished by a government.
The position stated above is not consistent with the original concept of
militia as provided for in the Constitution. Militia is defense activity,
and only secondarily those engaged in it. Militia may be called up by any
person aware of a threat to which militia needs to respond. The authority is
provided by the threat. It was envisioned that local sheriffs and constables
would also be commanders of militia in their jurisdictions, but the concept
includes situations in which officials are derelict or unlawful themselves.
The traditional militia was to provide a check on abusive officials, and in
the early Republic was the enforcement arm of the law, even when commanders
were elected by the men of their units, which was the common practice,
especially when officials were derelict or adverse to the will of the people.
The Minuteman Project provides an excellent example of militia performing
according to the intent of the Founders. Federal, state, and local
government has been derelict in defending the border and enforcing the law,
and civilians are responding to the threat by organizing, training, and
equipping themselves, and electing their own commanders. They are willing to
follow officials if those officials are doing their duties, but are not
required to wait for that unlikely event.
-- Jon
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