Halifax Co. leaders unable to find resolution on whether or not to back militia

HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. (WSET) -- A resolution to support a local militia has Halifax County leaders divided.

The Halifax County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday to discuss whether to support and call in the Halifax militia should any emergencies arise.

Supervisor W. Bryant Clairborne said that he fears that backing a militia could be inviting a problem into the community.

"If you empower something like a militia, it could provoke people," Clairborne said.

He said that a militia could cause grave danger if civil unrest occurs in the area and could even incite violence.

"The example I give you is in Kenosha, Wisconsin where this 17-year-old member of a militia went out and killed two people," Clairborne said.

Supervisor Ricky Short presented a resolution and said that the militia would be there for protection, not to incite war.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we get violence happening in the next ten minutes to have a local militia to call up while we wait on the national government to get the national guard in there?" Short said.

The board spent almost 40 minutes debating both the value and the danger of officially supporting a militia.

"We just don't need people that are not recognized as police and military out here with guns running around," Supervisor Stanley Brandon said./

Others argued that the local militia would do more good than it would do harm.

"They are here to help our county for emergencies, natural disasters," Supervisor Jeffrey Francisco said. "Seems to me like it's a group that could help our community."

After all the back and forth, board members didn't take a vote.

The board plans to revisit the subject within the next couple of months.