Originally published July 24 2013
Chicago democrat calling for military occupation of the Windy City
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) Though they wear the same uniform as the regular Army and Air Force, the primary mission and role of state National Guard troops is fundamentally different than those of their active duty brothers and sisters.
For one, Guard units serve their state first and foremost, answering to the governor and serving as his or her pleasure (Guard units don't answer to the president of the United States unless or until they are placed in federal service, as in, say, getting deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan).
For another, Guard members come from the communities in which they serve; active duty forces are sequestered on military bases and come from all over the country.
Third - and this is important - National Guard troops can be mobilized by governors during times of state emergencies. Most often such emergencies consist of disaster- or weather-related incidents (floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.). Lots of Guard troops responded to Hurricane Katrina, for instance, and they respond every year to similar natural disasters in their own states.
But governors can also declare a state of emergency for man-made disasters - such as riots - and use Guard troops to augment civilian police agencies to regain control of the streets of, say, a major metropolitan region, or to implement and maintain public security and safety.
As someone who has served in Afghanistan and in my own state as a Guardsman, I can attest to the validity of these roles. So it bothers me greatly when I hear some idiot lawmaker who doesn't have a clue about the military's proper role pushing to have Guard troops deployed in situations that clearly do not require their presence.
Empower people, not the Guard
Like Rep. Monique Davis, who has called on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to deploy National Guard soldiers to the streets of Chicago, as an augmentation force for the Chicago P.D. This idea is beyond dumb. It's insane.
"I am requesting with this press conference that Gov. Patrick Quinn order the Illinois National Guard (and) the Illinois State Police (to) come to Chicago and work with our mayor Ron (sic) Emanuel to provide safety for the children," Davis told a local CBS station recently. "I'm calling for the National Guard to come to Chicago and ride up and down these streets."
Then, in typical fashion, this radical went on to impugn the training and integrity of the very Guard troops she was calling for, imploring Quinn's office "to guide the behavior of the National Guard."
"We don't want them to have us fearing them also. We want them there for safety and protection," she said.
In Davis' defense, she isn't the first Illinois lawmaker to make such a ridiculous demand. In 2010, InfoWars.com reports, state Reps. and Chicago Democrats John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford called on then-Chicago Mayor Daley, as well as the governor, to use the National Guard as a crime-fighting force.
"As we speak, National Guard members are working side-by-side with our troops to fight a war halfway around the world," Fritchey said in a statement. "The unfortunate reality is that we have another war that is just as deadly taking place right in our back yard. Is this a drastic call to action? Of course it is. But is it warranted when we are losing residents to gun violence at such an alarming rate? Without question."
Added Ford: "Enough is enough. We've already lost too many lives. We need action now."
'Use the Guard - don't let citizens be armed!'
At the time, mind you, it was illegal to own a handgun in Chicago. The city had a total handgun ban - one that only law-abiding people (also known as victims) followed. That ban has since been vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court, thankfully.
And since then, the state has also been forced, by the same high court, to implement a concealed carry law, which it has done - though it was the very last state in the country to do so.
Despite these developments, it should be noted that these legislators are more comfortable calling for the state's military to be deployed in a crime-fighting capacity - a role the National Guard is neither designed for nor trained to perform - rather than allow law-abiding citizens to protect themselves from the gangs, thugs and criminals who control a large part of the city.
It is clear that none of these lawmakers have any idea what roles their own Guard force is designed to fulfill. What's also clear is that they want to empower themselves and government much more than they want to empower the citizens they are supposed to represent. That's the way statists and totalitarians think and behave.
Sources:
http://www.infowars.com
http://www.news-gazette.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
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