WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — The attacks on unarmed military personnel at two Chattanooga, Tennessee military facilities is prompting a new look at the gun-free zone rules. Congressman Sean Duffy is one of the elected officials that believes the current policy of not allowing service men and women the use of their weapons is clearly bad policy. “Our concern is that you have well-trained men and women in the use of firearms, unarmed on bases, and our bases or recruiting centers, they are targets in America, and to think that we don’t allow them to carry weapons, that policy has to be re-thought.”
The 7th District Republican says times have changed, and our military members are not always safe at home. “We’re not in a time where, you know, now that you’re back on the homeland and you’re on a military base, you’re safe. That’s not the case anymore, and so I think instead of letting our military men and women be sitting ducks, we need to arm them and make sure they’re prepared for any attack that may come their way.”
There are a handful of bills now circulating in Washington in both the House and Senate that would do away with the present policy restricting soldiers from carrying guns.
Just this week, Governor Scott Walker issued an executive order allowing the National Guard to carry their weapons in many on-duty situations. Major General Don Dunbar is Wisconsin’s Adjutant General. He already has placed armed security forces personnel at the state’s four Wisconsin National Guard recruiting storefront locations. National Guard Major Paul Rickert said visitors to those recruiting stations in La Crosse, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, and Madison can expect to have their bags searched.
U.S Senator Ron Johnson is the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He also introduced a bill Tuesday to end the restriction on service members carrying certain firearms on military installations. The Johnson bill is called the Armed Forces Self-Defense Act. Johnson says it would ensure that qualified, trained and certified military personnel will be permitted to carry their privately owned firearms on military installations, including reserve centers and recruitment offices. It would also give soldiers the inherent right to self defense and repeal any conflicting regulations and directives restricting personal firearms on military property.
Congressman Sean Duffy was a guest on WSAU’s Wisconsin Morning News with Sean Mela Wednesday morning.
