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Hegseth lifts ban on service members carrying personal firearms on base
The Hill ^ | April 2, 2026 | Sarah Davis

Posted on 04/02/2026 4:12:36 PM PDT by deks

“Not all enemies are foreign, nor are they all outside our borders,” Hegseth said. “Some are domestic. Confirming your God-given right to self-protection is what I’m signing into action today.”

The Defense secretary cited the shootings at Fort Stewart Army Base, Holloman Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Pensacola, saying they indicate “that some threats are closer to home than we would like.”

“In these instances, minutes are a lifetime,” Hegseth said. “And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious, short minutes count.”

Hegseth said his memo directs installation commanders to permit requests from service members to carry personal firearms on base “for personal protection.”

The Defense Department had previously barred privately owned weapons on military instillations. This decision was grounded in the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, which set standards for the establishment of gun-free zones on federal properties.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2a; banglist; hegseth; righttocarry; selfdefense

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1 posted on 04/02/2026 4:12:36 PM PDT by deks
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To: deks

The Secretary of War made an announcement [video 2:36]

https://x.com/SecWar/status/2039803944965185634


2 posted on 04/02/2026 4:14:41 PM PDT by deks (America cannot be made great in complete isolation from the adversaries that are harming Americans)
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To: deks

If you can’t trust them to carry a personal firearm responsibly then they probably shouldn’t be in the military to begin with


3 posted on 04/02/2026 4:18:18 PM PDT by mbrfl
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To: deks

Wonder if this will apply to retired vets. Hoping so.


4 posted on 04/02/2026 4:21:26 PM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: deks

Excellent!


5 posted on 04/02/2026 4:25:22 PM PDT by Old Grumpy
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To: deks

This is a Good Thing.
Can’t remember the Major that went
Jihad with a 5.7 pistol years back.
He’s still locked up....IIRC


6 posted on 04/02/2026 4:44:22 PM PDT by Big Red Badger (Resist Satan's Tyranny )
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To: deks

Was absurd to have at least two recent cases of an unhinged person who couldn’t be stopped from shooting on a base because no one was allowed to carry a weapon but the killer.
Held them up to ridicule for sounding like elementary school teachers hiding behind piles of desks with kids in a “No Gun Zone” school.


7 posted on 04/02/2026 4:44:28 PM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
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To: deks

Way past time for this

L


8 posted on 04/02/2026 4:44:52 PM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: deks

So as retired military, I read this as meaning I can submit a request to the local base commander and he should eventually allow me to carry while on base. Or give me a reason in writing for saying no. Might be a small step in the right direction. But I’m underwhelmed.

Not 100% sure if it applies to retirees. And I allowed my CCW license to expire after Arizona went Constitutional Carry.


9 posted on 04/02/2026 4:45:48 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
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To: deks

.


10 posted on 04/02/2026 4:51:20 PM PDT by redinIllinois (Pro-life, accountant, gun-totin' Grandma - multi issue voter )
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To: deks

Good!


11 posted on 04/02/2026 4:54:17 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: deks

Hey Babs - what’s your GI experience?
You should quiet down before your stupidity/bias really shows your ignorance.


12 posted on 04/02/2026 4:58:56 PM PDT by dagunk
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To: dagunk

Yep, in the last four paragraphs of the article that I left out due to the rule to excerpt.


13 posted on 04/02/2026 5:16:22 PM PDT by deks (America cannot be made great in complete isolation from the adversaries that are harming Americans)
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To: deks

It’s about time! We can send 18 year olds to die in service to our country but they can’t carry a weapon on a military base. Absurd.


14 posted on 04/02/2026 5:20:47 PM PDT by TermLimits4All ("If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything.")
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To: Mr Rogers

I keep mine valid still. There’s a guy in Utah with my exact same name that must’ve gotten in trouble or something because I would get a delay on my purchase. I also lived in Utah several times in my life to compound the issue I guess. Breeze right through with the cc permit.


15 posted on 04/02/2026 5:24:32 PM PDT by TermLimits4All ("If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything.")
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To: deks

That they were even denied “carry” is absurd.


16 posted on 04/02/2026 5:30:43 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Sacajaweau

Major Nidal Hasan.


17 posted on 04/02/2026 5:32:46 PM PDT by Fuzz
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To: Fuzz

I remember......


18 posted on 04/02/2026 5:40:43 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Mr Rogers

I believe your case would be the same as a veteran that is not a retiree. What makes both the veteran and retire the same is they are not on active duty.

I just checked with AI on that question and the answer was only active duty military members subject to military law can now apply to carry. All others cannot.

I checked with our local base a couple years ago, and the answer was a flat no.


19 posted on 04/02/2026 5:53:00 PM PDT by redfreedom (The Forth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
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To: redfreedom

“I just checked with AI on that question and the answer was only active duty military members subject to military law can now apply to carry. All others cannot.”

Thank you for researching it. I’m not surprised. The military doesn’t trust even people who had Top Secret clearances for most of their life to carry a Ruger LCP...so this reform really IS a very small step in the right direction.

One that does nothing for me.


20 posted on 04/02/2026 6:47:28 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
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