CALL UP THE DAMN MILITIA

At least a portion of the national screaming match about guns has turned to action taken by the President. But there is one lil suggestion I have…... Call up one of those right-wing militias. Call em up!! Guess who is the commander-in-chief of the militia the racist right-wingers reference in the part of the Second Amendment that no one seems to know about? That’d be the President of the United States, according to Article II. Hum? So I think brother Barack, him being the commander-in-chief, should activate the militia. Clearly, “security of a free State” is at stake if we ordinary citizens are not safe to go to schools, shopping malls, movie theaters, public appearances of our elected representative, and I almost forgot…Unitarian churches. So, I think brother Barack should call up the militia. Any white person who owns a gun is ordered to report Friday with their weapons for militia training and assignment. They will be evaluated as to their fitness for duty — including a mental health screening — as well as the condition of their guns and their skill in handling them. They will be furnished with proof that they reported for and completed this training. Thereafter, any white gun owner who cannot furnish such proof will be subject to penalties, and still be required to report for militia duty. Hum again? It’s simple. It’s in the Constitution. And dammit, it’s 100% unworkable. For starters, I think we know the folks hollerin the loudest about the Second Amendment would never surrender to this sort of “tyranny.” (For 99% of em, the definition of “tyranny” is having to do anything a Black person says.) It would cost a lot of money and time, both for organization and enforcement. Military resources would almost certainly have to be diverted to the task. And last, but certainly not least, “the militia” was redefined in 1903 to mean The National Guard, which brings me to the fun part! Just who do you think would waste no time loudly and repeatedly bringing up that last fact? I’m gonna go with “gun owners” on that one. Maybe even Mr. NRA, Wayne LaPierre his own self. But even if they don’t point to that particular law, one way or another it’s a safe bet that they will make the point that they are not subject to being a militia in the sense that the Founders not only intended, but specified. And once we’ve established that the first clause of the Second Amendment is outdated and irrelevant, maybe — just maybe — we can have a sensible conversation about the whole amendment. (Yeah, I know. But I said “maybe” twice, so cut me some motherfuckin slack...) Sure, it’s kind of an intricate way to make a point, but our racist right-wing Republican friends do that shit all the time — how many votes has the House held to repeal Obamacare? Government-as-performance-art can work for our side too, once in a while... Bye!!