Aug. 25, 2015
HARRISBURG--Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) has introduced a resolution urging the U.S. Congress and the Department of Defense to immediately address security concerns to better protect our military personnel within the borders of the United States while in the performance of their duties.
White crafted the resolution following the July 16 killing of four Marines and one sailor in two shootings in Chattanooga, Tenn. Police shot and killed shooter Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a 27-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Kuwait.
Since 1992, the Department of Defense limits the presence of weapons in public settings.
“When in 1992 the military ordered soldiers stationed in recruitment centers not to carry any weapons, the policy made more sense,” White said. “It was ordered, in part, to prevent accidents from happening. But that policy is now dangerous, in a world where, Islamic jihadists are openly calling for their followers to lead attacks on our home front. These extremists hate everything America stands for and seek to prey on the defenseless lives of our service men and women.”
House Resolution 437, which has bipartisan support, asks the Department of Defense to review current domestic force protection policies, including giving military personnel the authority to carry the weapons they have been trained to use and to protect one another should there be a threat of violence.
“Our brave men and women deserve the opportunity to protect each other in the same fashion they protect us,” White said.
The resolution is now before the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Representative Martina White
170th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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