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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Calls rise for arming service members, increasing security at military installations

The shootings last week that killed five service members has reinvigorated the debate about whether troops should be able to carry personal firearms for protection on base, with supporters saying arming service members could prevent attacks like the one in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

As federal lawmakers debate a policy that makes reserve training centers like the one in Chattanooga gun-free zones, governors are ramping up military protection efforts in their respective states. At least six have signed orders to allow National Guard troops to carry firearms at bases.

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez fired 25 to 30 shots at a military recruiting center Thursday morning in Chattanooga. Authorities chased the Kuwait-born gunman to a Navy support center about seven miles away, where he killed four Marines and mortally injured a sailor before local police killed him.

In the wake of the shootings, some officials, including lawmakers on Capitol Hill, have said arming service members could have prevented these attacks as well as others such as the ones at Fort Hood in 2009 and the Washington Navy Yard in 2014.

“Just because a member of our armed forces is not deployed to an active war zone does not mean they are safe,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, Kansas Republican. “If the members of our armed forces at the Chattanooga military recruitment centers had been allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights, the outcome of the attacks could have been very different.”

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...


It is apparent that under Obama, while attack after attack is launched against defenseless military and civilian targets by Muslim fanatics, our military sites large and small are less equipped to defend themselves than Barney Fife. He had a pistol and a bullet; they are not permitted either one.

Twisted, twisted priorities at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Anonymous said...

I usually get my hair cut next door to the recruiting office near Outback Steak House. I don't mind telling you that I am uncomfortable in that parking lot now. I know people say that things like that don't happen in small towns...but they have, and I really don't want to find out the hard way that it could happen here. I really support the move to have visible security and/or moving recruiting centers to places that are already armed.

Anonymous said...

4:32 One more reason Maryland has got to evolve into a "shall issue" state. Nobody should have to worry about being helpless and defenseless against evil, where ever it rears its ugly head.

Anonymous said...

Time to take out a few Muslims and cut off their heads in the middle of downtown!