So in response to the insanity of the Supreme Court’s latest decision, the New York State Legislature should convene and pass — and Gov. Hochul should sign — the Well Regulated Militia Act.
...I spent 11 years of my life around arms of all shapes and sizes; from 9mm handguns to Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. That’s because I was an officer in the United States Navy. Not a wannabe tough-guy who owns a pair of cargo pants, boots and a Black Rifle Coffee hat he bought online. No, I’m an actual combat veteran of the U.S. military. In fact, my title onboard the guided missile destroyer I served on for more than four years was weapons officer. So I know a little about what life in the well regulated militia should look like.
The well regulated militia will meet for muster at 6 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday. It will conduct routine physical fitness training and testing for all members. It will conduct regular firearms training and assessments. It will require members to adhere to personal grooming standards and wear uniforms when conducting official militia activities. It will report to the New York State commander-in-chief — the governor — and respond to all emergency tasking the commander-in-chief requires. Hurricanes, flooding, winter storms and pandemic response are all likely peacetime missions. Remember, this well regulated militia is necessary to the security of our free state. It says it right there in the Second Amendment.
I'm bemused by this. Diamond is showing an serious lack of knowledge about what he writes. #1 NY already has a State Defense Force. Serving in the Federal Navy is not the same thing as a militia in the historical sense. Our militias originated from the Romans. The Roman militia were an Army who provided their own weapons and trained as a unit once per month. The Roman Navy was entirely different. Diamond's full time service onboard a Guided missile destroyer is a different animal than militia service.
Again, muster was generally once per month... manytimes less. There have always been 2 classes of militia... voluntary and compulsory. Voluntary militia are also know as "uniformed militia" because they provide their own uniforms (i.e. NY State Guard). The compulsory militia typically did not wear uniforms. The majority of militia members never had uniforms.
That said, despite Diamond's uninformed statements, a well regulated militia is indeed necessary to the security of our free state. So I would urge every state to create or expand their State Defense Forces. Militia are about 10 to 100 times more cost effective than the military we have now: