Minutemen were frontier farmers, homesteaders and common everyday Americans who dropped their plows and picked up their rifles to win our independence by defeating the world’s best trained, best equipped army of the day.
To guarantee the use of these "Minutemen" again if needed, we memorialized our inalienable right to keep and to bear arms "for the defense against enemies foreign and domestic" through the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution. Challenges to the 2nd Amendment appear to be based around the idea that there was never an intention to have an armed “we the people” to protect and defend.
Let’s put things into perspective. Many guns in the hands of civilians are used by hunters. Hunters have knowledge, skills, and abilities not unlike those of combat soldiers. These skills and abilities include (not limited to): marksmanship; mental toughness/physical fitness; navigation; bushcraft; First Aid; observation and patience.
It is of interest to note there are licensed hunters in every state. There are thousands of hunters in every state. These people have guns. They have ammunition for these guns. They know how to use these guns effectively and efficiently. These people, armed and ready, make up a national strategic defense asset. They are important to world peace.
There are (according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Hunting License Data Calculation for the year 2021) a total of 38,590,862 “hunters” in America. This makes our home-grown hunters the largest standing, equipped and trained army in the world. In fact, this army is larger then the top ten largest armies in the world, combined.
According to Worldpopulationreview.com, the top ten largest armies in the world are: China, India, USA, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, Iran, Vietnam, and Egypt. The total number of active and reserve and paramilitary soldiers for all of these countries is 33 million and change. That is still nearly 5 million smaller than our own homegrown armed and trained defenders.
Our enemies know this. Even in WWII, the Japanese plans to invade the USA were fearful of this armed and dangerous civilian population. Part of Alaska was invaded by the Japanese. Resident in Anchorage and Fairbanks and Seward resolutely waited on front porches and in front yards with guns loaded prepared to defend their homes. The Japanese advanced stalled and failed. All of our enemies (foreign and domestic) want to see us disarmed.
In our historic landscape, men like Robert Rogers (leader of Rogers’ Rangers) turned our band of hunting and wilderness savvy irregulars into a formidable fighting force. As Jake Hubbard notes in his book, "American As Guerilla Fighters: Robert Rogers And His Rangers," "Absent the irregulars, Massachusetts men would not have triumphed at the Battle of Concord in 1775, nor would the colonies have survived the first year of their struggle for independence."
The tools and techniques of warfare have changed. And I wouldn't argue that hunters have the same level of training as the brave men and women of our armed forces. But size matters. A standing army of nearly 40 million self-armed, self-trained, citizen-soldiers whose attitude is best characterized as “mobile, agile and hostile” must be considered.
As it now stands, the greatest danger to our country does not come from an attacking, invading enemy force. Rather, our greatest threat comes from a powerful, political elite whose fear of “we the people” makes them desperate to eliminate our arms and erode the 2nd Amendment.
We can fight this autocratic and self-serving political elite by limiting the terms of their elected service, and truncating the government overreach they drive. Our most powerful tool is an Article V Convention of States.
A Convention of States is called and controlled by the states and has the power to propose constitutional amendments. These amendments can limit the power, scope, and jurisdiction of the federal government -- including their power to regulate firearms.
With all Americans of every state free to secure means of armed self-defense, our country will be safer and more secure than it's ever been.
To get involved, sign the Convention of States Petition below!
Charles Childers is a volunteer for Convention of States California.
