I agree that nobody wants a hot topic. Just from a historical view, as a foreigner who read a bit, but may not have got the whole picture, I understood that the 'well regulated militia' aspect did not necessarily imply a government-formed militia (that a private militia might well be valid).

That's a concept that I could see somewhere in the Imperium.

On Tue, Aug 25, 2020 at 6:39 AM Jeff Zeitlin <xxxxxx@freelancetraveller.com> wrote:
On Tue, 25 Aug 2020 02:53:35 +0000 (UTC), Phil Pugliese wrote:

>Yes, I've always figured that the 'system fleets' (mostly SDB's of various
>sizes, I reckon) probably fall into 'State Guard' category.For quite a few
>years the annual 'Military Balance' published by the IISS in the UK always
>had a notation appended noting that individual states were allowed to form
>a "militia" but not all had.

"Militia" is a funny term here in the US; you'll need to understand what
your reporting agency thinks it means (vs. what it really means in the US).
Legally, the Militia of the United States is defined as all able-bodied
male nationals of at least seventeen years of age, and of no more than
forty-five years of age, and all members of the National Guard and Naval
Militia (Reserve). It is divided into two components:

*  The Organized Militia, consisting of the National Guard and Naval
   Reserve

*  The Unorganized Militia, consisting of all those in the Militia of the
   United States who are _not_ in the Organized Militia. Effectively, this
   is identical to "Everyone who is subject to compulsory service in the
   event of the Selective Service system being activated".

The various State Guards are legally part of the Unorganized Militia; the
"Militia" that your "Military Balance" states an individual state is
allowed to form is actually the State Guard.

(This topic can further develop into a discussion of the Second Article
Amending the Constitution of the United States, and the definition of
'well-regulated', but I would prefer not to see that happen.)



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