The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Obama: AK-47s belong on battlefield, not streets

MLeake · July 27, 2012, 01:19 AM

With regard to BlueTrain post #55:

Yes, I know the NG was referred to as the militia at one point.

However, at the time the Constitution was written, the militias were not state-funded, nor state-equipped. In some cases, they were barely even trained. Citizens were expected to equip themselves with their own firearms, powder, and shot.

So the current analogy of the 18th century militia being the equivalent of the modern National Guard is off-base.

July 27, 2012, 01:19 AM	#123
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	With regard to BlueTrain post #55: Yes, I know the NG was referred to as the militia at one point. However, at the time the Constitution was written, the militias were not state-funded, nor state-equipped. In some cases, they were barely even trained. Citizens were expected to equip themselves with their own firearms, powder, and shot. So the current analogy of the 18th century militia being the equivalent of the modern National Guard is off-base.