Early U.S. Congress called for armed citizens

The early U.S. Congress wanted every "free able-bodied white male citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45 to be an armed member of a militia, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The historical perspective amid a progressive effort to restrict and even confiscate guns comes from T.J. Martinelli, an author and reporter in Washington state, who wrote about Congress and guns at the Tenth Amendment Center website.

He points out that it was 227 years ago this month that Congress adopted the Militia Acts of 1792.

The pair of statutes allowed the president to lead state militias in time of war and conscript men to fight "with self-provided arms and munitions."

"To a modern American living in the midst of an empire with a permanent military presence both here and abroad, there might be little reason to acknowledge this anniversary. However, it offers an example of how the founders believed military defense and war should be handled, and why so many modern arguments against civilian gun ownership don’t match the history," Martinelli wrote.

The first statute allowed the president to call up militia members "whenever the United States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger of invasion from any foreign nation or Indian tribe." The second gave authority to call all men to join.

But, now, "overlords" claim that the Founders "never intended for private citizens to have military weapons." Such claims, however, never cite a foundation.

The unfounded arguments are "used to justify gun control policies that restrict our right to keep and bear arms as described in the Second Amendment," Martinelli explained.

For the rest of this report, and more, please go to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.