After watching the slaughter at the Ft. Hood terror attack in 2009, the second Ft. Hood shooting in 2014 and most recently in Chattanooga, soldiers stationed at bases and posts here at home are fed up with the military's "gun free" zone policy.
Current Department of Defense policy states, "It is DoD policy to limit and control the carrying of firearms by DoD military and civilian personnel. The authorization to carry firearms shall be issued only to qualified personnel when there is a reasonable expectation that life or DoD assets will be jeopardized if firearms are not carried."
After Chattanooga, this policy was even more dumbfounding. The FBI had been warning military service members about potential lone wolf terror attacks for nearly a year, yet didn't allow those stationed in recruitment centers any means to protect themselves. As I've written before, despite knowing the potential for attacks, military leaders, Congress and the president did nothing tangible to allow military to defend themselves, displaying negligence at the highest levels. Military personnel were warned repeatedly for months about attacks but were kept unarmed. This photo of the recruitment center in Chattanooga says it all:
How could #ChattanoogaAttacks happen in a gun free zone?! pic.twitter.com/vZm6KmNs3f
— Progressives Today (@ProgsToday) July 16, 2015According to a new Rasmussen Report, an astounding 81 percent of military service members want current DOD policy changed and want the ability to carry concealed weapons on base.
Following the murder of five unarmed military personnel in Chattanooga, Tennessee this summer, some in Congress have proposed allowing more service members to carry weapons on bases in this country. A new RallyPoint/Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of active and retired military personnel finds that 81% favor such a plan.
Just 15% oppose allowing military members with qualified concealed carry licenses to have weapons on domestic bases in the United States. Four percent (4%) are undecided.
Support for expanded concealed carry privileges on stateside bases is equally high among all branches of the service. Those in the reserves are slightly more supportive of this proposal than those on full-time active duty or who are retired.
The question now is, when will Congress bring this legislation up for a vote? It's clear military constituents want and for the security of our soldiers, the legislation has been passed and should be signed by Obama immediately should be passed immediately. There is no excuse and lives are on the line.
UPDATE: An amendment sponsored by Republican Reps. Scott Rigell, John Carter, Michael McCaul and Louis Gohmert was passed in the House last week 370-58 and has been revised and passed in the Senate 91-3 as part of the current National Defense Authorization Act. Obama has threatened to veto the NDAA because it also includes an amendment banning GITMO detainees from being brought to the U.S. mainland.
This post has been updated.
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