Sen. Rand Paul To Push For Guns On Military Bases

Following the latest military shooting in Chattanooga last week, which took the lives of five servicemen, thirty-four members of the military have been shot and killed on US soil since President Obama took office in 2008. Last week’s attack was the fourth mass killing at a military facility in the past six years.

Yet soldiers are still prohibited from carrying guns on military bases, thanks to a twenty three year old policy put in place by President George H. W. Bush. The policy limits those who can carry at military facilities to law enforcement and security personnel.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced this week that he is working on a bill that would strike down this policy and finally allow soldiers to defend themselves at bases and recruiting centers.

Earlier this week, Paul said, “One of the weird things is that we have 15-20 states where you can open carry. So everybody can carry, except for the military? I think that’s crazy. The rules that apply to everybody should at least apply to the military.”

Paul also called guns a “great deterrent” and said he would like to make it easier to arm airline pilots as well.

Despite a strong track record of prioritizing gun issues, Paul has had a rocky relationship with the NRA, which left him off the list of speakers for its convention earlier this year.

Paul and his father have long been associated with non-NRA gun groups like National Association For Gun Rights and Gun Owners of America.