William F. Jasper

About the author: William F. Jasper is the senior editor of the New American, a biweekly publication of the conservative John Birch Society.

Critics of the militia movement have portrayed militia members as menacing extremists and have distorted the meaning of the Second Amendment by claiming that there is no individual right to own guns. But a U.S. Senate subcommittee, after extensive legal research, concluded in 1982 that the individual citizen has a right to own and carry guns "in a peaceful manner." That there are some sinister elements within the militia movement—including racists and fascists—cannot be ignored. However, in order to gain legitimacy, militias should remove these negative elements and should stress civic responsibility. Militias that advocate armed resistance against the government merely hurt...