April 2, 2026 / 9:48 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday he will permit service members to carry privately owned firearms onto military installations, citing the Second Amendment and recent base shootings. In a video posted to X, Hegseth said he is signing a memo directing base commanders to allow requests for personnel to carry personal weapons “with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.” He said any denial must be explained in detail and in writing.
Hegseth said bases had effectively been gun-free zones unless personnel were training or were military police. Questions about access to weapons often follow shootings on installations, ranging from isolated incidents between service members to mass-casualty events such as the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead. He cited more recent episodes, including a shooting at Fort Stewart, Georgia, last year that injured five soldiers; officials said the shooter, an Army sergeant who worked on the base, used his personal handgun before being tackled and arrested. Army prosecutors say he is seeking to plead guilty to attempted murder and other charges.
Under current Defense Department policy, military personnel are barred from carrying personal weapons on base without permission from a senior commander, and strict rules govern how privately owned firearms must be stored. Typically, service members must check guns out of secure storage for sanctioned activities such as on-base hunting or shooting ranges and return them promptly. Outside of ranges, hunting areas or training, military police are often the only armed personnel on post.
Tanya Schardt, senior counsel at the Brady gun violence prevention organization, warned the change could worsen suicides and other gun violence, noting most active-duty service members who die by suicide use a personally owned weapon, not a military-issued firearm. While fewer service members died by suicide in 2024, Pentagon data show suicide rates among active-duty troops have gradually risen between 2011 and 2024. Schardt also said military installations are already among the most protected properties and argued the public should be informed about how the Defense Department plans to prevent violent crime on bases.
Hegseth’s move is the latest in a series of policy shifts he has pursued since taking Pentagon leadership. He has criticized what he calls “woke” policies and sought changes to military equal opportunity rules, grooming and fitness standards. The Defense Department has moved to cut ties with certain graduate programs Hegseth views as ideological, directed libraries to identify and sometimes remove diversity, equity and inclusion materials, and he recently announced reforms to the Chaplain Corps. Hegseth has also removed several senior military leaders, most recently asking Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to take immediate retirement.