As most of you already know, Thursday was an extremely tragic day for those in uniform. Four United States Marines were brutally gunned down in a withering blaze of fire by an armed gunman who was free to move between both a recruitment center and a reserve naval center before finally being shot and killed by police. Both of these facilities were “gun free zones” – meaning there was no way those service men and women could have the ability to defend themselves or their comrades from the assault.
This will not do.
Thankfully, a petition has recently been filed with the White House and is hopefully going to pick up enough steam to have this issue addressed.
The petition as filed on Thursday, reads, “Allow Military Service members that are properly licensed carry concealed weapons and handguns on military installations.”
As the petition explains in its opening paragraphs:
“After the events that took place in Chattanooga, Tn were 4 Marines lost their lives while doing their very job the building that they were in was a gun free zone. The need to allow Military Members to carry concealed weapons is real. We need to push the government to open military installations and offices to allow carrying of weapons. There has been too many shooting on military bases to allow this to continue. Please support this petition and let’s get some changes going.”
If you’re interested in supporting this effort, we’ve enclosed the petition right here for your convenience.
A simple fact of life: the attack on Wednesday is not an isolated occurrence. It has happened before in Fort Hood. It will happen again given enough time. And as we’ve already seen previous on-base assaults and shootings pop up, it only makes sense for men and women in uniform to have the right to protect themselves accordingly.
It doesn’t make any sense to keep them unarmed if they are permitted to carry a concealed carry firearm. However, at present, there are regulations that may ultimately help if properly applied.
As the current law reads, AR 190-14 – Carrying of Firearms and Use of Force for Law Enforcement and Security Duties:
a. The authorization to carry firearms will be issued only to qualified personnel when there is a reasonable expectation that life or Department of the Army (DA) assets will be jeopardized if firearms are not carried. Evaluation of the necessity to carry a firearm will be made considering this expectation weighed against the possible consequences of accidental or indiscriminate use of firearms.
b. DA personnel regularly engaged in law enforcement or security duties will be armed.
c. DA personnel are authorized to carry firearms while engaged in security duties, protecting personnel and vital Government assets, or guarding prisoners.
Regardless of where you stand on this petition, please do check it out on WhiteHouse.gov and read through and see if anything in it inspires you to support those who serve us both domestically and overseas.
It is my diligent hope that no American be left at the whims of an attacker who has no regard for life – and doubly so for those in uniform who are automatic targets for those looking to strike against authority.