The Chattanooga shooting that left four marines dead is just the latest in a line of lone wolf attacks where news outlets such as CNN had “questions of motive”. And as everybody knows, military bases are gun-free zones. While being allowed to possess a firearm does not guarantee one’s safety, declaring any zone gun-free just guarantees a target-rich environment at minimal risk for would be Lone Wolves. So people have started asking why military bases are gun free zones in the first place. It’s a popular myth on the right that this started under President Clinton, but in reality his was only an extension of an existing law, and it only applied to the Army. Don’t mistake that last line for me turning into a Clintonista – I’m all for holding the Clintons accountable for their sins, up to and including treason. A much broader regulation came to pass under the watch of Clinton’s immediate predecessor, President George H.W. Bush. But the purpose of this post isn’t to lay blame and point fingers at who started this policy. Why not look forward instead and use this issue to improve our standing in the International Community?
Remember those days of the W. Bush presidency when we were told how our imperialistic foreign policy was damaging our standing in the eyes of the world? Thankfully we’re beyond lecturing the rest of the world as to how they need to adopt the values held by American elites. If the goal of our foreign policy is to be loved and not look like a nation of international bullies as we did under President Obama’s predecessor, why not start with our bases being gun free zones? Think about what kind of message that this sends to the rest of the world. We’re telling people in foreign countries that we’re perfectly fine sending our military walking through their streets and flying overhead with enough weaponry to raze a town in minutes, but we won’t trust these Guardians of Peace with even sidearms when they are safely away in those enclaves of America known as their bases? Shouldn’t every leftist want our bases held to the same levels of security as somewhere like the streets of Fallujah? I know, most leftists will argue for our military to not be anywhere overseas, and instead face true threats like Tea Party rallies. But if the left will acknowledge the military’s need to exist overseas, shouldn’t the left be arguing for Base Armament Equality?
I know that there are much bigger issues facing us right now, but if having this discussion helps to save the lives of our military from the next Lone Wolf attack of Unknown Motive, it’s a discussion worth having.
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Cross posted from Brother Bob’s Blog
