Gun Policy and Base Security

On April 3, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo, announced in a video on X, directing commanders to presume service members may carry privately owned firearms on U.S. military bases—citing the Second Amendment and recent base shootings—and requiring any denial of such requests to be explained in detail and in writing. The policy reverses a long‑standing regime that kept personal guns in secure storage or restricted them to hunting/range use and has drawn criticism from gun‑violence groups such as Brady, whose senior counsel Tanya Schardt warned it could increase suicides and other gun violence amid Pentagon data showing a long‑term rise in active‑duty suicide rates.