What happened in Chattanooga, TN is truly devastating. We all need to take time to pray for the victims and their families. The loss of lives is always devastating no matter how it occurred. Throughout this tragedy we don’t need to forget those who were harmed.
Let me make this clear from the beginning. This is Islamic terrorism. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez gunned down four unarmed marines at a military facility in Chattanooga, TN and prior to that shot up a marine recruiting center down the road. Devout followers of the Islamic faith have been carrying out terror attacks on innocent Americans for decades. This is another act of terrorism on our home turf.
No matter what President Obama or any other leader says, Islam is not a peaceful religion. The Islamic faith is anything but peaceful. If you look at history there has never been anything about Islam that has brought peace to a region. If Muslims aren’t waging jihad on the West then they are waging war on other Muslim tribes. The Quran itself teaches to kill infidels (which is anyone who isn’t a Muslim).
One important fact that everyone needs to know is these military facilities are gun-free zones. This means that law-abiding citizens cannot carry concealed weapons to defend themselves on this property. My question would be, does the second amendment not apply to our service men and women? What part of the right to keep and bear arms do we not get? The Department of Defense Directive was changed in 1992 by George H.W. Bush to keep guns off bases and it reads as follows:
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.”
The looming threat of Islamic terrorism in America today is enough “reasonable expectation” to authorize each member of the Dept. of Defense to carry a concealed weapon while on duty and on a military base. There have been at least 20 deadly shootings on military installations in the U.S. since 1995. Is this not enough “reasonable expectation” to allow our military men and women to carry a concealed weapon?
A common argument is, “do we want this many people with guns at one place?” The answer is yes. After all, these men and women are trained military members. They went through weeks of basic training and hours of firearm training in order to be a member of the armed services. Not to mention they have to qualify with firearms every time they go to training. If we can’t allow our military men and women to defend themselves while in uniform and on military bases then who can we allow?
It is time that all of our men and women in uniform be permitted to carry concealed weapons while on military bases. The threat of terrorist attacks like the one in Chattanooga should be enough evidence and “reasonable expectation” for this to happen.
