Gun Policy and Base Security

Pete Hegseth signed a memo, announced in a video on X on April 3, 2026, directing commanders to allow service members to carry privately owned firearms on U.S. military bases with a presumption that carrying is “necessary for personal protection,” and requiring any denial to be explained in detail and in writing. The change departs from a decades‑old practice that generally required personal weapons to be stored securely and checked out only for hunting or ranges, and has drawn warnings from gun‑safety advocates like Brady’s Tanya Schardt—citing Pentagon data on rising active‑duty suicide rates—that loosening the policy could increase suicides and other gun violence, a shift opposed by many senior military leaders.