Stockman: End rules disarming military personnel

[Call Stockman’s office to encourage him: (202) 225-1555]

A Texas congressman told Guns & Patriots that his signature proposal to repeal firearms-ban at military bases is extremely popular with the grassroots because it protects our individual liberties.

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“Before I finished drafting the bill, we received calls in support,” said Rep. Stephen E. Stockman (R.-Texas) who is the author of the Safe Military Bases Act, H.R. 3199, which calls for the repeal of the ban on the carrying of firearms at military bases.

The measure is spreading like wild-fires, he said.

“Allowing trained soldiers to carry firearms should be an easy-fix no reasonable person can oppose,” he said.

“One of the commanders on the base in San Antonio contacted us to say he was ecstatic we are doing this,” he said. “Military people have been trained in weapons; we trust them to go overseas to fight for us; we train them to protect our families; and we train them to protect our country, yet they are not allowed to protect themselves.”

The concept to limit and control the carrying of firearms by military and civilian personnel stems from a Department of Defense initiative in 1992, but was implemented in a policy order in 1993 by then-president William J. “Bill” Clinton, he said. “It was a minor program that exploded under Clinton.”

The 1993 policy makes it unlawful for individuals on military bases to carry firearms with the exception of military police and the carrying of firearms for military training purposes.

“Our disarmed military bases are vulnerable targets for terrorists, as we saw in Fort Hood and the Navy Yard. Despite that, soldiers trained to use guns cannot carry on base. The result is two mass killings where defenseless soldiers had to watch as their friends were murdered,” said Stockman.

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A lone gunman fatally shot Sept. 16 12 people at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command inside the Washington Navy Yard before he was killed by police.

A U.S. Army Major fatally Nov. 5, 2009 shot 13 people at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas. The perpetrator was found guilty on all 13 murder counts, and Aug. 28 he was sentenced to death.

Stockman said had the victims been armed, lives could have been saved, he said.

“If a gunman starts shooting at a lot of people, when armed they will shoot back,” the congressman said.

“The Second Amendment defends the rest of the Constitution – it’s not for honey,” said Stockman. “Our founding fathers’ understood that power belongs to the people not the government. That is embodied in the Second Amendment.”

Rapid erosion of our individual rights, not just the Second Amendment is of concern, he said.  “It is the invasion of our telephone records, medical records, and our privacy.”

“It is the individual who built this country with individual liberty which is now quickly being given-up,” said the Vice Chairman of the House Second Amendment Task Force.

As an example, the city of Chicago which has all the gun control laws and which the president advocates for – is now the murder capital of the world, he said.

“Whether is it Mexico or Chicago we are going to see a continual rise in crime when victims are unable to defend themselves,” he said.

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“This is what happens when we restrict people’s rights to defend themselves and attempt to control their own individual liberty, we have an increase of those who do not respect liberty,” said Stockman.

His dedication to the Constitution was passed down to him by his father, a World War II veteran, he said.

“He was a defender of the Second Amendment and he was an avid defender of the Constitution,” the Texan said.

“Most governments that want to restrict our liberties want to restrict guns,” he said. “Whether it’s China or North Korea, in order to control the populace they always want to first take away our defense.”

Stockman, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and plays an active role in uncovering the truth about the attack of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, said: “The military are trained people with the ability to shoot and we restrict their ability to defend themselves. It’s kind of weird that we would restrict them or even consider restricting their rights.”

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