• Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        No, they aren’t. They are a branch of the Federal military. Each State government is supposed to maintain its own “well regulated militia”, in case of Federal overreach. That’s what the 2nd amendment calls for…and it’s clearly needed now.

        • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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          5 hours ago

          Each State government is supposed to maintain its own “well regulated militia”, in case of Federal overreach.

          That’s why each state has its own branch of the National Guard. And there was essentially no discussion when the Constitution was being written about the use of state militias to deter federal overreach. More was about putting down slave rebellions and committing genocide against Native Americans.

        • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          They are a branch of the Federal military

          No they aren’t. You’re thinking of the Reserves. The national guard can be activated by the federal government, but they are run by the state. Hell even the oath you take is to the governor of the state instead of the president.

          • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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            21 hours ago

            If they can be “federalized” by the President…then they do not truly serve the State. He can simply overrule that authority during an emergency. And it’s pretty obvious at this point, he is perfectly willing to create an emergency in order to do just that.

            State militias are something else. They serve the State, alone.