citizen militia
Volunteer defense force
A citizen militia is an armed force composed of ordinary civilians rather than professional soldiers, typically organized for local defense or to resist perceived government overreach.
The term appears in debates about the Second Amendment, where a well regulated militia is invoked to argue for or against gun rights.
Citizen militias range from historical minutemen defending their communities to modern groups training for confrontation with federal authorities.
The concept assumes citizens retain the right and duty to bear arms in collective defense.
- armedCarrying weapons
- bear armsCarry or possess weapons
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- home guardLocal civilian defense volunteers
- minutemenInstant-ready colonial militia
patriots · uprising · revolt · guerrilla · resistance · muster · rifles · liberty · defense · homestead · town square · insurgent · rebellion · powder keg · call to arms · townsmen · vigilante · ammunition
- Militiasterritorial defense, home guard, minutemen, volunteer army, volunteer forces
- 1848 RevolutionFebruary Revolution, provisional government, abdication, barricades, universal suffrage
citizen militiastanding army
Continuously maintained military force
regular army · conscript army · federal troops · professional army · career soldiers
citizen militiagovernment forces
Military under state control
royal army · secret police · federal army · military junta · foreign troops
citizen, militia, citizens, citizenship, citizenry, militias, militiaman, militiamen, cities