The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America:
“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.”
You’ve probably heard of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. The NRA and other groups constantly bring the Amendment into the limelight. It’s the pillar of security to gun owners across the United States. It ensures that nothing like Australia’s buy-back will ever happen here. It contributed to Japan’s decision to not invade the United States in World War 2 because, as widely reported, Admiral Yamamoto declared “There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”
What one side of the political spectrum sees as a glaring defect to the fabric of the country, responsible gun owners see as one of their last grips to any sustainable individual power. Common sense would have you understand that criminals don’t follow laws, therefore, gun laws limiting the ability of law abiding citizens to procure and bear firearms only makes the guns in the hands of criminals that much more powerful. When you write new laws, only those that are willing to follow it will be affected. Gangs, thieves and other criminals won’t turn their guns in, ever.
The fact is, American citizens have a right to keep and bear arms. Opponents of this fact have slowly eroded away at that right on state and federal levels for decades. But for now, law abiding citizens are allowed to purchase firearms with background checks. Just about everything else is up for interpretation and changes on a state by state basis.
The reason I’m bringing up the 2nd Amendment surprisingly isn’t because of guns. If you’ve read the news, the Democratic Governor of New Mexico publicly shamed a private militia group that was guarding the border (at a popular illegal crossing point) after they detained over 200 illegal immigrants and held them until Border Patrol could take over. Governor Grisham stated, “It should go without saying that regular citizens have no authority to arrest or detain anyone.”
Personally, I’m not convinced that Governor Grisham has read the Constitution of the United States or understands the dictionary definition of ‘militia’. The Second Amendment clearly states that citizens are allowed to form militias. The definition of militia is “a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency.” After President Trump declared a national emergency at the Southern border (to which many on both sides agree there is an emergency), it made it completely legal for a militia to detain suspected individuals that are illegally crossing the border.
The leader of this militia (The United Constitutional Patriots or UCP) was arrested by the FBI over the weekend. Larry Hopkins is being charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If these charges are true, under federal law he should go to jail. However, that does not mean that the UCP’s mission in New Mexico is flawed. They are well within their rights as American citizens to form a militia and act in the country’s interest during a national emergency. I do not endorse the beliefs or backgrounds of the men and women that are members of this militia, but I understand what they are doing to be legal.
This morning, it was reported that 5-6 Mexican army soldiers disarmed 2 American soldiers on the United States side of the border. Mexico’s military entered our sovereign soil and disarmed 2 of our US Army soldiers.
From the Mexican governments ineptitude in handling the huge migrant caravans to their inability to deal with the growing drug trafficking and cartel growth within its borders, they have proven to be untrustworthy and uninterested in helping the United States solve the illegal immigration problem. Why would they? Of the estimated 11 million illegals within the borders of the United States, many earn payroll and send billions of US dollars back across the border to their families in Mexico. This illegally obtained (illegal immigrants cannot legally work in the US) money has kept the failing Mexican economy afloat for years. Mexico has great interest in seeing the continued flow of illegal immigration into the United States and Canada as it benefits them greatly.
As a country, we have many problems at our southern border. A well regulated militia legally formed and legally detaining (during a national emergency) suspected illegal immigrants until Border Patrol can verify identities is not one of them.
Sources:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript
Reasonable Ink 