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"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials." — George Mason, in Debates in Virginia Convention on Ratification
by RCompKing 11y ago
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials."
— George Mason, in Debates in Virginia Convention on Ratification of the Constitution, Elliot, Vol. 3, June 16, 1788
- throw0112a 11y agoBut when Mason said "whole people", he was talking about the make up of the militia, and not the personal rights of said militia. (It's on this basis that conscription is legal in the US and one can be forced into the military (or be an objector). )