Dissent is at the heart of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and democratic government but the rise of armed paramilitary organizations, many of which are popularly known as militias, threatens to undermine the constitutional process. On the one hand, some so-called militias are little more than uniformed debating societies. On the other hand, armed paramilitary organizations have gone beyond peaceful assembly to armed rebellion with guns, bombs, and even biological pathogens. Armed militias have elevated antigovernment rebellion to a constitutional duty. To protect against these militias, criminal laws need to be strengthened to ensure violence and threats of violence are deterred and appropriately punished when they occur. In addition, the distorted message of armed militias must be exposed. Appendixes contain information on States with laws prohibiting militias and paramilitary training, model statutes, the Federal Anti-Paramilitary Training Statute, and a history of State militias. 47 notes