Congress leaders announced Friday that they are looking to persuade the Pentagon to allow troops to be armed on military bases in the aftermath of the Chattanooga massacre, which resulted in the deaths four Marines and a sailor being seriously wounded at a recruiting center.
The directive will be included in bill that sets defense policy for the coming year and may be finalized by the House and Senate this month, according toa joint statement from Sen. John McCain, and Rep. Mac Thornberry, who are heading negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act, Stars and Stripes reported.
"Long before the Chattanooga attack, we had been working to clarify a post commander's authority to allow carrying of personal firearms," the statement from McCain and Thornberry said. "This year's National Defense Authorization Act will reflect that work. Together, we will direct the Pentagon to end the disconnect between the threats our warfighters and their families face and the tools they have to defend themselves."
The Chattanooga shooting was carried out on Thursday by 24-year-old electrical engineer Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez on Thursday, who drove his Mustang up to the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tenn. and began firing on the military facility, killing and wounding personnel. He also fired into a strip mall recruiting office earlier in the day.Witnesses said local police responded to the incident and that the gun battle lasted about 20 minutes. Abdulazeez was killed by authorities.
However, Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, warned Friday about "over-arming" personnel, saying that security at recruiting centers will be reviewed but that it was too early to say whether the service will boost protection, according to The Associated Press.
The issue of guns on military bases had entered the 2016 presidential race in April when Sen. Ted Cruz said he supports the Senate legislation allowing troops to be armed. Presidential hopeful Donald Trump followed suit and said on Friday that the change could have made a difference for the victims in Tennessee.
"Get rid of gun free zones. The four great Marines who were just shot never had a chance," Trump wrote on Twitter. "They were highly trained but helpless without guns."
