Rift over state militias stirs Oklahoma GOP

State Senator Randy Brogdon is under scrutiny for comments he made to the AP, which appeared to support militias. However, the senator is now saying his comments were taken out of context. Meanwhile, the battle over states’ rights and the Second Amendment has gained traction in his home state of Oklahoma.

A debate is brewing in Oklahoma within the Republican Party over the creation of militias, which Oklahoma State Senator Randy Brogdon, who is also running for governor, says the AP took his quote out of context.

The AP article in question stated:

State Senator Randy Brogdon, a Republican candidate for governor who has appealed for tea party support, said supporters of a state militia have talked to him, and that he believes the citizen unit would be authorized under the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

The founding fathers “were not referring to a turkey shoot or a quail hunt. They really weren’t even talking about us having the ability to protect ourselves against each other,” Brogdon said. “The Second Amendment deals directly with the right of an individual to keep and bear arms to protect themselves from an overreaching federal government.”

We hear what the senator has to say about this supposed confusion. And we also speak with Oklahoma State Senator Steve Russell, who says he doesn’t see any need for a militia in Oklahoma.