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Congress seeks to lift gun ban at military outposts despite army's concerns
Source: The Guardian
Congress seeks to lift gun ban at military outposts despite army's concerns
Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington
Tuesday 28 July 2015 12.43 BST
While attempts to enact stricter gun laws at the federal level remain stalled in Congress despite a series of recent high-profile mass shootings, certain restrictions on firearms may actually be loosened.
State and federal lawmakers are eying ways to eliminate so-called “military gun-free zones” after a lone gunman shot and killed five service personnel in Chattanooga, Tennessee, earlier this month. In the wake of the shooting, a flood of legislation has been introduced to reverse a decades-old policy that bars military personnel from carrying firearms at recruitment centers and on bases. And army leaders, while not entirely behind the idea, have conceded they might support tweaking the directive.
Five US service members were killed in the attack on 16 July, when 24-year-old gunman Mohammed Youssuf Abdulazeez opened fire on both a recruiting station and a naval reserve support center within several miles of each other before he was shot dead by police.
Although authorities have yet to determine the shooter’s motive, the killings have spurred widespread calls on the military to arm its personnel – particularly at recruiting centers, where critics argue that service members are open targets at a time when the threat of domestic terrorism looms especially large. Republican presidential candidates have also thrown themselves behind a reversal of the current policy, elevating the issue to the national political discourse.
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Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington
Tuesday 28 July 2015 12.43 BST
While attempts to enact stricter gun laws at the federal level remain stalled in Congress despite a series of recent high-profile mass shootings, certain restrictions on firearms may actually be loosened.
State and federal lawmakers are eying ways to eliminate so-called “military gun-free zones” after a lone gunman shot and killed five service personnel in Chattanooga, Tennessee, earlier this month. In the wake of the shooting, a flood of legislation has been introduced to reverse a decades-old policy that bars military personnel from carrying firearms at recruitment centers and on bases. And army leaders, while not entirely behind the idea, have conceded they might support tweaking the directive.
Five US service members were killed in the attack on 16 July, when 24-year-old gunman Mohammed Youssuf Abdulazeez opened fire on both a recruiting station and a naval reserve support center within several miles of each other before he was shot dead by police.
Although authorities have yet to determine the shooter’s motive, the killings have spurred widespread calls on the military to arm its personnel – particularly at recruiting centers, where critics argue that service members are open targets at a time when the threat of domestic terrorism looms especially large. Republican presidential candidates have also thrown themselves behind a reversal of the current policy, elevating the issue to the national political discourse.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/28/congress-loosen-gun-restrictions-military-outposts-chattanooga
