Wars and Breaches on the Border: Time for a 'Well Regulated Militia'?
Barbara Anderson
January 31, 2006
?A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.? - Amendment II to the Constitution of the United States of America.
This is the right claimed by the NRA and others who want to keep arms. It has been debated for years by those who say the amendment envisioned only a Militia having arms. Most Americans probably don?t pay much attention to the amendment, but there is an invasion going on right now that certainly reinforces those who say we need this amendment; we need an armed populace.
The Minutemen, a group of citizens formed to keep watch on our southern border, may be the closest thing we have to a militia. Many are armed only with binoculars and cameras, but some carry weapons, legally. Many are former policemen, security guards and armed forces personnel who are used to carrying weapons and respect the restraint needed to be responsible carriers. Contrary to the statements of proponents of illegal immigration, there have been no incidents involving the Minutemen using their arms.
Because of the stepped up drug activity and smugglers bringing people across the border, places along that border are becoming war zones. Fox News reported January 24, 2006 that ?men in Mexican-style uniforms crossed the Rio Grande into the United States on a marijuana-smuggling foray, leading to an armed confrontation with Texas law officers, authorities said Tuesday. No shots were fired.? While the men escaped back across the border, when they fled they left behind more than a half-ton of pot in a burning vehicle. Another report tells that Mexican military Humvees were towing what appeared to be thousands of pounds of marijuana and that Mexican Army troops had several mounted machine guns on the ground more than 200 yards INSIDE the U.S. border near Neely?s crossing, about 50 miles east of El Paso.
Chief Deputy Mike Doyal, of the Hudspeth County Sheriff?s Department, remarked ?It?s been so bred into everyone not to start an international incident with Mexico that it?s been going on for years. When you?re up against mounted machine guns, what can you do? Who wants to pull the trigger first? Certainly not us?. Doyal?s deputies faced a similar incident on November 17. Six fully armed men dressed in Mexican military uniforms and carrying machine guns and driving military vehicles, tried to bring more than three tons of marijuana across the Rio Grande, according to Doyal. ?It happens quite often here?, he said. He added that deputies and border patrol agents are not equipped for combat.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff played down the reports of border incursions by Mexican military. He suggested that many of the incursions could have been mistakes and blamed bad navigation by military personnel or attributed incursions to criminals dressed in military garb. Chertoff has issued promises of stepped up technical security devices, but has not offered to seal the border or put opposing U.S. military there.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Republic reported on January 24, 2006 that Mexico?s human rights agency says it will give out detailed maps of the Arizona desert to guide migrants (read illegal aliens) safely through the most popular and deadly corridor into the United States. The maps are sophisticated and detailed, showing mountains, railroads and cities. Perhaps the Mexico human rights agency could dispense its maps to its military, which seems to keep losing its way right into United States territory. Mexican officials last week denied any incursions made by their military.
However, border agents interviewed recently have discussed confrontations they have had with those they think are Mexican military personnel. ?We?re sitting ducks,? said an agent, speaking on condition of anonymity. ?The government has our hands tied?.
Some questions come to mind:
When will Homeland Security start making our southern border secure? When will this behemoth bureau, with scads of money at its disposal, give up on the technical surveillance it is touting and start building a real deterrent, a sturdy fence?
When will we see the administration tell Mexico to respect our sovereignty and to stop doing everything in its power to keep sending its poor over the border? When will we hear our leaders tell Mexico?s Fox to butt out of our national affairs and quit threatening us with dire consequences if he doesn?t get his way?
When will we see well armed men of our own, such as the National Guard, repel the invasion that is going on? The count of these incursions totals over 200. It has been ignored for so long that nobody takes our sovereignty seriously.
When will we stop the rampant drug smuggling.? The most recent incursion, backed up by armed men and heavy duty artillery, left over a half ton of marijuana when their plan went awry. Does the average American realize that marijuana was headed straight for their children and grandchildren? Do the ?soccer moms? care about this?
Is this the time for a ?well regulated Militia?? It seems the disciplined Minutemen may be an answer for the pressing need of eyes and ears, and some defensive arms, along our wide open southern border until the government catches up with the sentiments of outrage by its citizens.
This is the right claimed by the NRA and others who want to keep arms. It has been debated for years by those who say the amendment envisioned only a Militia having arms. Most Americans probably don?t pay much attention to the amendment, but there is an invasion going on right now that certainly reinforces those who say we need this amendment; we need an armed populace.
The Minutemen, a group of citizens formed to keep watch on our southern border, may be the closest thing we have to a militia. Many are armed only with binoculars and cameras, but some carry weapons, legally. Many are former policemen, security guards and armed forces personnel who are used to carrying weapons and respect the restraint needed to be responsible carriers. Contrary to the statements of proponents of illegal immigration, there have been no incidents involving the Minutemen using their arms.
Because of the stepped up drug activity and smugglers bringing people across the border, places along that border are becoming war zones. Fox News reported January 24, 2006 that ?men in Mexican-style uniforms crossed the Rio Grande into the United States on a marijuana-smuggling foray, leading to an armed confrontation with Texas law officers, authorities said Tuesday. No shots were fired.? While the men escaped back across the border, when they fled they left behind more than a half-ton of pot in a burning vehicle. Another report tells that Mexican military Humvees were towing what appeared to be thousands of pounds of marijuana and that Mexican Army troops had several mounted machine guns on the ground more than 200 yards INSIDE the U.S. border near Neely?s crossing, about 50 miles east of El Paso.
Chief Deputy Mike Doyal, of the Hudspeth County Sheriff?s Department, remarked ?It?s been so bred into everyone not to start an international incident with Mexico that it?s been going on for years. When you?re up against mounted machine guns, what can you do? Who wants to pull the trigger first? Certainly not us?. Doyal?s deputies faced a similar incident on November 17. Six fully armed men dressed in Mexican military uniforms and carrying machine guns and driving military vehicles, tried to bring more than three tons of marijuana across the Rio Grande, according to Doyal. ?It happens quite often here?, he said. He added that deputies and border patrol agents are not equipped for combat.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff played down the reports of border incursions by Mexican military. He suggested that many of the incursions could have been mistakes and blamed bad navigation by military personnel or attributed incursions to criminals dressed in military garb. Chertoff has issued promises of stepped up technical security devices, but has not offered to seal the border or put opposing U.S. military there.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Republic reported on January 24, 2006 that Mexico?s human rights agency says it will give out detailed maps of the Arizona desert to guide migrants (read illegal aliens) safely through the most popular and deadly corridor into the United States. The maps are sophisticated and detailed, showing mountains, railroads and cities. Perhaps the Mexico human rights agency could dispense its maps to its military, which seems to keep losing its way right into United States territory. Mexican officials last week denied any incursions made by their military.
However, border agents interviewed recently have discussed confrontations they have had with those they think are Mexican military personnel. ?We?re sitting ducks,? said an agent, speaking on condition of anonymity. ?The government has our hands tied?.
Some questions come to mind:
When will Homeland Security start making our southern border secure? When will this behemoth bureau, with scads of money at its disposal, give up on the technical surveillance it is touting and start building a real deterrent, a sturdy fence?
When will we see the administration tell Mexico to respect our sovereignty and to stop doing everything in its power to keep sending its poor over the border? When will we hear our leaders tell Mexico?s Fox to butt out of our national affairs and quit threatening us with dire consequences if he doesn?t get his way?
When will we see well armed men of our own, such as the National Guard, repel the invasion that is going on? The count of these incursions totals over 200. It has been ignored for so long that nobody takes our sovereignty seriously.
When will we stop the rampant drug smuggling.? The most recent incursion, backed up by armed men and heavy duty artillery, left over a half ton of marijuana when their plan went awry. Does the average American realize that marijuana was headed straight for their children and grandchildren? Do the ?soccer moms? care about this?
Is this the time for a ?well regulated Militia?? It seems the disciplined Minutemen may be an answer for the pressing need of eyes and ears, and some defensive arms, along our wide open southern border until the government catches up with the sentiments of outrage by its citizens.
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