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Originally Posted by JR
my understanding was that states could declare martial law in thier own state. no? its just not done on a federal level with federal troops enforcing it. just curious and too lazy to google it.  |
You are correct, although they have to do so in response to SOMETHING extraordinary.
For example, during most of the race riots in the 60s, Federal troops were only used once that I am positive of (Detroit). There may have been other cases, but I can't be positive.
The guard "belongs" to the states, and under normal circumstances they would handle natural disasters, domestic unrest, etc. The guard can also be federalized, and nowdays is as likely as the Reserves to be called to active duty.