NASHVILLE, Tenn. – State Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) has filed a resolution calling for federal action to end gun-free zones at military facilities after last week’s attack in Chattanooga.
The resolution urges Congress and President Obama to end gun-free zones at military facilities after Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez opened fire at a Navy-Marine training center, killing four U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy Officer.
The resolution read, “we hereby urge Congress and the President of the United States to review and revise law and policy regarding the carrying of firearms by military service members on military installations or facilities so that military personnel can both help prevent and more readily defend themselves from terrorist attacks against such facilities.”
“This policy developed over two decades ago, was a very bad decision and certainly does not recognize current threats of terrorism faced by our military facilities today,” added Bell. “It should be removed immediately. The continuation of the policy makes facilities across the nation a prime target for acts of terrorism like the horrific attack in our state.”
Governor Bill Haslam has asked Tennessee Adjutant General Max Haston to review security policies and procedures at National Guard armories and storefront recruiting facilities.
In 2009, U.S. Army Private William “Andy” Long was shot and killed outside a Little Rock, Arkansas, recruiting center by Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad. Formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, that shooter was also from Tennessee.
