Marines given green light to carry weapons on bases for first time

January 02, 2020

Marines and civilian personnel in Marine Corps law enforcement roles will be allowed to carry their personal concealed firearms while on base, the head of Marine Corps policy announced on Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. George Smith sent a memo to the entire force telling them that military police, criminal investigators, and Marine Corps Law Enforcement Program police officers will be allowed to carry concealed weapons off-duty. Approximately 3,200 individuals will be eligible to carry their personal firearms under the new policy, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Joseph Butterfield told the Washington Examiner.

Smith’s memo follows last month's shootings at Naval Air Station Pensacola and at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam near Honolulu. The attacks left five dead and nine injured. Pearl Harbor gunman Gabriel Romero, a Navy sailor, killed himself at the scene. Pensacola shooter Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi Air Force second lieutenant, was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies.

“These tragic events prompted Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) to accelerate existing efforts to develop concealed carry policies,” Smith said in the memo.

Only Marine Corps law enforcement personnel credentialed under the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, known as the LEOSA, will qualify under the new directive. The LEOSA allows active and retired civilian law enforcement to carry concealed weapons across the country, regardless of local laws. Prior to the new directive, Marine Corps law enforcement officials were only allowed to carry service weapons in the course of their official duties. They now will be able to carry their personal concealed weapons when engaging in off-duty activities, like visiting a base commissary.

Dakota Wood, a retired Marine Corps officer who served as the executive officer of the Corps’ military police training unit, told the Washington Examiner he thought the new directive makes sense since military law enforcement members are already well-trained and well-versed in how and when to use a sidearm.

“So it would seem kind of silly, at least it has been to me, that you would have somebody fully trained and authorized by the service to carry a weapon when they are in uniform in an active law enforcement role, but then they are somehow irresponsible or they couldn’t use that same tool in similar circumstances if they’re not in a duty status,” Wood said.

The same privilege should not be extended to all Marines, given the varying levels of firearms training across jobs, Wood said.

“We should think about general carry and concealed among the general population with a bit more circumspection,” he said.

According to Smith’s memo, the Marine Corps will continue to “develop policy” on requirements for the rest of the force when it comes to carrying, transporting, and storing concealed firearms.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/marines-given-green-light-to-carry-weapons-on-bases-for-first-time