As Twitchy reported earlier, while recruiters were being advised not to wear their military uniforms in the immediate wake of the Chattanooga, Tenn., shootings that killed four Marines and one Sailor, some citizens saw nothing to stop them from taking up arms and volunteering to stand guard over military recruiting stations.
According to these media reports, it looks like the idea is spreading. In Las Vegas, a lone veteran stood watch:
Local Vet standing guard outside a local recruitment center to "protect his brothers." @News3LV pic.twitter.com/dTLbYCpiur
— Fatima R. Baig (@FatimaReports) July 21, 2015
Metro says the vet is within his 2nd amendment rights to stand outside a military recruitment center. @News3LV pic.twitter.com/JY480wBmqv
— Fatima R. Baig (@FatimaReports) July 21, 2015
In Cleburne, Texas, an armed group is keeping watch over the the Navy, Marines and Air Force recruiting offices on Nolen River Road in what they call “Operation Hero Guard.”
Armed with rifles, men stand guard at military recruiting offices in Cleburne http://t.co/jdjQkISTTd pic.twitter.com/CXK1QUUfM3
— Fort Worth Star-Telegram (@startelegram) July 21, 2015
Group member and 15-year Army veteran Terry Jackson called it “unacceptable for our soldiers, sailors, our men and women of the military to go over and serve and go into combat, and then to come back here to the homeland and be gunned down on their home duty stations. They were going to work for their families and not coming home.”
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@startelegram great! If our Federal Government won't protect our military…our state will! Guns SHOULD be allowed!
— Bev Sikes (@Amicae63Bms) July 21, 2015
That could be changing. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has introduced legislation that, for example, would prevent recruiters from having to wait for armed law enforcement to respond with firearms.
I just introduced legislation to repeal bans on military personnel carrying firearms on U.S. military installations http://t.co/h4oQBJaiM7
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) July 21, 2015
My Safeguarding Service Members’ #2ndAmendment Rights Act addresses #gunfreezones, restores rights of service members http://t.co/h4oQBJaiM7
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) July 21, 2015
The full text of the legislation is available on Moran’s website, but a summary reads, in part:
In the cases of the 2015 U.S. Army and Marine Corps Chattanooga shooting, the 2013 attack at the Washington Navy Yard, the 2010 attack at the Pentagon, the 2009 attack at the U.S. Military Recruiting Office in Little Rock, the 2009 attack on Fort Hood, and the 2008 attack on the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Times Square, military personnel were prohibited from carrying firearms and unable to respond with force.
U.S. military personnel are trained in the use of firearms, with live-fire qualification and use-of-force training. They are entrusted with firearms and other weapons in the defense of the United States, yet are banned from carrying their firearms in “Gun-Free Zones” on military installations and DoD sites such as military recruitment centers, making these sites vulnerable targets.
Sen. Moran’s Safeguarding Service Members’ Second Amendment Rights Act would repeal laws and regulations disarming military personnel …
Meanwhile, in Chattanooga:
As recruiting center re-opens, people jump in line to enlist. More on @WRCB at 5. #ChattanoogaShooting #NoogaStrong pic.twitter.com/NxbxWaN1Gs
— ???? ??????? (@MattBarbourTV) July 21, 2015
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