Skip to footer

New provision would allow concealed-carry on military bases. Will it pass?

A provision passed by the House would allow military base commanders to authorize the concealed carry of firearms on military installations. Now it goes to a conference committee. 

|
Seth Perlman/AP/File
In this March 7, 2012 file photo, gun owners and supporters participate in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day rally at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

Much of the response to a deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tenn. last week has been gun-related. This week, seven states have armed their National Guard members, many citing a need for “protection” of civilians and military personnel.

The July 16 shooting that left five military servicemen dead has many Republican lawmakers questioning laws that restrict access to guns by military personnel. As The Hill reported, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R) of Calif. told reporters on Tuesday that Congress could vote to lift a ban barring members of the military from carrying weapons. An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the Defense Department annually, that would allow service members to carry weapons has passed in the House already.

“Right now, we have the NDAA and that’s being discussed in conference as well, that provision,” McCarthy said. “It could be in the NDAA conference because they have that issue inside there where it could allow the base commander to have the determination.”

The amendment, written by US Representatives Michael McCaul (R) and John Carter (R), both of Texas, and Scott Rigell (R) of Virginia, strikes a chord with many conservative Americans.

Rep. McCaul issued a statement after the House passed the NDAA in May that described the horrific attacks on Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas:

“Texas has twice mourned the loss of our soldiers and civilians after shootings at Fort Hood just north of my district. In 2009, Nidal Hassan walked into Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center … and opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 42 others in the most horrific terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11. Five years later, another shooter opened fire on the base, killing four and wounding 16 others. Enough is enough. We must give our base commanders more discretion and our soldiers more protection.”

Now the House and Senate must now work together to reconcile the two bills. This happens in a conference committee appointed by both the House and the Senate.

After the shooting in Chattanooga, the pressure has mounted. Outspoken presidential hopeful Donald Trump called for an end of gun free zones in a tweet last week.

And yet, others have been more skeptical. A New York Times report reveals that the FBI confirmed that at least one service member shot the attacker – this means that at least one weapon was readily available.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to New provision would allow concealed-carry on military bases. Will it pass?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0722/New-provision-would-allow-concealed-carry-on-military-bases.-Will-it-pass
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe