National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
Floor Speech
Mr. MCCAUL. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the Carter-Rigell-McCaul-Gohmert Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2016 and in defense of our servicemembers' Second Amendment rights.
Twice my home State of Texas has mourned the loss of our soldiers and civilians after shootings at Fort Hood just north of my district. In 2009, Nidal Hassan walked into Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Center, shouted ``Allahu Akbar'', and opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 42 others in the most horrific terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.
Five years later, another shooter opened fire on the base, killing four and wounding sixteen others. This is on top of other deadly attacks on military installations, such as the Navy Yard shooting in 2013, and the 2009 shooting at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas, where another Islamist radical killed one and wounded another.
In each case, one has to wonder if something could have been done to stop the shooting sooner and to prevent more lives from being lost. For years, DOD has had a stringent policy which prevents well-trained soldiers from carrying personal firearms on base in compliance with state and local laws. The Carter-Rigell-McCaul-Gohmert Amendment will responsibly adjust this policy and allow members of the Armed Forces to carry a concealed personal firearm if their commander determines it to be necessary as a personal or force protection measure.
This is especially important at a time when threats to our soldiers and military bases is growing. In March, ISIS published a ``kill list'' of the names, photos and addresses of American soldiers. Since then, the threat level at U.S. military bases increased to ``Force Protection Bravo,'' in response to the increased threat of terrorism.
Mr. Chair, we must give our base commanders more discretion and our soldiers more protection. Thousands of my constituents in Texas already exercise this right responsibly. It is time for our servicemembers to be allowed to do the same.
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