We make no secret of these two model ordinances. One, briefly called “The Constitution Enforcement and Militia Ordinance”, formally recognizes the militia unit in your County as Constitutional militia with its Constitutional law-enforcement authority. It commits your County to enforcement of the Constitution, and also sets up the relationship of mutual oversight and support between the militia and local government, that our Constitution requires. The other, the “Grand Jury Ordinance”, assures that a Grand Jury will be seated when it is required, that its lawful authority will be respected, and that it will have the protection and assistance of the militia as needed.

You need to know that passage of these Ordinances is a very late stage in the process of building Constitutional capability in a locality. Although their message is inspiring, presenting the Ordinances to a governing body, or even discussing them with officials BEFORE a capable and well-regarded and well-connected group has been built, deeply rooted into and appreciated by the community and fully ready to step into the title and role of Constitutional militia, is a very bad idea, for several reasons.

 First, no sensible member of a governing body will vote for something they have never seen. And if the ordinances are presented but are defeated, the odor of this initial failure will cling to the process forever.

Second, a governing body might see, in passing an ordinance recognizing a body that does not exist,  the opportunity to create a new body of thugs under its direct control.

Third, outside of the aforementioned straight-up wicked motive, which we hope very few local governing bodies would entertain, what is in it for them? Unless they are hard-line Constitutionalists, they will be skeptical of the very word, “Militia, in many places a scary word, Very few understand its not only benign but necessary character.  “How will voting for this crazy idea get me re-elected?”, Board members may ask.  “Can I encourage the County attorney to tell us that this is illegal, and then say, “Sorry, we can’t!”?”

Before bringing up the idea, you and your group must be be certain that you can pack the meeting-room with people from all over your community, ready to testify to all the things your group has already done to make the community better and safer…the pastors whose parking lots you have plowed and whose services you have protected, the old lady whose cat you got out of the tree, the parents of the lost child you found, the car-dealer whose vandalism problem you stopped, the ladies who feel safer after taking the self-defense classes you provided, the sheriff whom your group assisted with information, manpower, or specialized training, the fire-chief whose trained guys you relieved of traffic-control duty, etc., etc.  You must also have a trained spokesman, ready to explain details and counter the many bogus, legal-sounding arguments that may be brought up, that “militia is illegal”, or “County government a no power to do this””.

I do not know if you belong to an existing group, or are working on building one.  I would be honored to talk to your guys at any point about any part of the process, to help train your spokesmen, and also to be a part of discussions about how the Ordinances may need to be adjusted to fit your community’s needs , history, and political realities. 

But remember that there are no “quick fixes”. You need to build Constitutional awareness, and a full spectrum of militia capabilities, as well as clear visibility and a solid reputation for moral uprightness and service, before you can reasonably expect OR constructively use Ordinance passage. Also remember that the Constitution Enforcement and Militia Ordinance has a necessary companion Grand Jury Ordinance. This can provide the essential element of robust investigatory power, but only if your education program has deeply seeded your community with people who will know their authority if called to serve on a Grand Jury, and who will be able to educate their fellows.

A final caution. The criminal networks that have stolen our governments and crippled our neighborhoods are old and strong, and well-connected. While you are the lone County in your State or region that has recognized Constitutional Militia and facilitated Grand Jury process, you should be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Stick to community service, to partnering with your Sheriff, to building disaster resiliency, to rooting out small-timers, while you help neighboring Counties to build as you have. Once you have a network of recognized militias around your State and across the line, then you will be able to get going on the real work, with the reach to follow the bad-guys wherever they hide.

And I want to close with some encouragement. This may seem like a long road, and we are starved for action, and time seems desperately short. Let me remind you that a quick fix that brings more problems than it solves (like more propaganda ammo for the totalitarians, or weaker due-process, or higher community tolerance for random violence) is not a “fix” at all. But our program of developing Constitutional awareness, community defensive and survival capabilities, and restoring responsibility and self-reliance, bears huge dividends immediately, regardless of how far the process goes before events intervene.