A South Carolina legislator wants the state to have a large militia–so large, in fact, that every person over 17-years-old who can legally buy a gun would become a member if the bill passes. The Courthouse News Service notes that State Senator Tom Corbin, a Republican, introduced a bill this year that would create an “unorganized militia” for everyone over 17, as long as they are not part of the National Guard. South Carolina already has a law that created an “unorganized militia,” but this bill would define who would become a member. The legislation has already passed a Senate panel.
The bill reads: “Any able-bodied citizen of the state who is over seventeen years of age and can legally purchase a firearm is deemed a member of the South Carolina Unorganized Militia, unless he is already a member of the National Guard or the organized militia not in National Guard Service.”
Corbin said he introduced the bill so that Congressional efforts at gun control could not affect South Carolina firearms. The legislation states that “the unorganized militia may not fall under any law or regulation or jurisdiction of any person or entity outside of South Carolina.”