By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s dramatic shift of policy on the possession and carrying of personal sidearms by members of the military “while in their nonofficial duty capacity on DOW property within the United States,” is getting plenty of attention from gun owners and Second Amendment advocates who say “it’s about time.”
Hegseth made the announcement a few days ago in a video posted on “X.” In the announcement, Hegseth explained, “Before today, it was virtually impossible—most people probably don’t know this—for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons aligned with the state laws where we operate our installations. Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones, unless you’re training, or unless you’re a military policeman, you couldn’t carry. You couldn’t bring your own firearm for your own personal protection onto post. Well, that’s no longer.”
In a statement provided to TGM by Kostas Moros, director of Legal Research and Education for the Second Amendment Foundation, he revealed, “SAF fully supports Secretary Hegseth’s decision to enable our service members to be able to carry personal firearms on military bases, with any denials requiring a written explanation. SAF believes any ‘gun-free zones’ are constitutionally questionable, and also create soft targets that are enticing to criminals and others bent on violence. The fact that military bases, of all places, have been under such restrictions has long been perplexing to us. Serving your country should not require the wholesale abandonment of the Second Amendment right of armed self-defense. It’s excellent to hear that this dangerous policy is finally changing.”
The announcement has gotten plenty of publicity from publications including The Hill, PBS and Ammoland News.
In his short video, Hegseth stated, “If the rejection of an application is necessary, the rejection shall be in writing and explain the objective, clearly describable, and individualized basis for such decision. The review shall be a dispassionate and commonsense application of applicable law and standards.”
Traditionally, active duty servicemen and women were not permitted to carry personal firearms on base. This new policy is literally a 180-degree shift, which recognizes—as Hegseth noted—“Not all enemies are foreign, nor are they all outside our borders. Some are domestic.”
