The militia movement is a growing concern in America. It has awakened the American public to the reality that armed resistance, led by U.S. citizens, has the potential to take place against the American Government on U.S. soil. This resistance, however, has taken a different form than what we usually associate with terrorism. In essence, we have various groups of disgruntled Americans, armed with their rights guaranteed by the U.S. constitution, who are concerned with the growth and illegitimacy of the United States Government and share a common feeling of a slow, gradual enslavement by a tyrannical, oppressive regime. Although most citizens are quite happy with the current form of government and do not see any "conspiracy" in the brewing, the militia groups have a long list of concerns which I will bring to the forefront in an attempt to get a better understanding of the mindset behind the growing militia movement in America.
Okay, so what is the militia and where did they come from? The various militia groups that are currently operating in America claim to derive their authority from Title 10 Ch.13 s. 311 of the United States Code in addition to the 2nd and 10th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Surprisingly as it may seem, there is a valid and lawful claim to the existence of the militia. Briefly, the definition listed in the U.S. Code under Title 10 Ch.13 s.311 states: a) the militia of the United States consists of all able bodied males at least 17 years of age and, under 45 and b) the classes of the militia are: (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. This clearly refers to the rest of the able bodied male citizenry, which would keep the professional armies in check. .
Many of the concerns of the militia groups are straightforward.