From Law and Crime: Attorneys Pounce on Kyle Rittenhouse’s Reported ‘Well Regulated Militia’ Legal Defense

The latest on the applicability of the 2nd Amendment: 

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Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old supporter of President Donald Trump and police who is accused of fatally shooting two men in Wisconsin last week, is expected to unveil a rather extraordinary legal argument as part of his defense.

Rittenhouse is being charged as an adult with six criminal counts: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under the age of 18. The first five are felonies; the weapon possession charge is a misdemeanor. While Rittenhouse’s attorneys will likely combat the various homicide charges by claiming self-defense, NBC News reported on Monday that Rittenhouse’s attorneys are planning to fight the possession charge by arguing that Rittenhouse was acting as part of a “well-regulated militia” under the Second Amendment.

According to the report, Rittenhouse’s attorney John Pierce–who previously represented President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page–is likely to argue that Wisconsin’s ban on firearms possession by persons under 18 violates the U.S. Constitution because a 17-year-old minor has the same Second Amendment rights as an adult.

“Therefore, the argument goes, the Wisconsin law unconstitutionally restricts Second Amendment-protected firearms possession,” wrote attorney and NBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos. “Pierce will likely add that the American colonies expected, and sometimes required, citizens under 18 to have and bear arms.”