Enlighten me over carrying guns

[Jeneral2885]

As one who's not fully aware of the gun-free zone stuff. So many on the military facebook pages say "sailors should have been armed with guns". But wasn't there one sailor shot by Lewis with a 9mm? So he did have a gun--and failed to shoot back. So what next? Every sailor to carry GPMGs?

[Recursion]

1. Sailors, particularly administrators, don't spend much time on the range

So he did have a gun--and failed to shoot back.

It's unlikely he had a safe shot he could make (the ones who are trained know not to take shots that risk other people).

FWIW, one take from this is that the military (who is safety-conscious and data-driven enough to make servicemembers sit backwards when they fly on military planes) has decided that armed personnel are not an effective deterrent to mass shooters. Come to think of it, in the decade I was in the Marines we never learned any doctrine about dealing with one. I'm not sure whether there is no such doctrine or we just weren't the ones who were supposed to know it.

[Decaffeinated]

5. I wonder if this will be the push to allow CCW back on post...

[Recursion]

7. Certainly not in DC

DC will allow concealed weapons about 15 minutes after monkeys fly out of my butt.

On the whole, the Pentagon has looked at this and decided the risks of concealed carry outweigh the benefits.

[Lee-Lee]

12. I hope so

I drive about 3 hours for my drills, and they put those of us who travel over 100 miles up in hotels that are not always in the best sections of town. It irritates the hell out of me that I must choose to either leave my CCW behind or park off DOD property so I can leave it locked in the car.

Even worse when I drive for a school that is on a post.

[Decaffeinated]

13. Agreed...

Having to plan out the weekend to avoid post is a hassle...

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I'm not familiar with that post (or port), but...

when I was in the Army all weapons were locked up in the armorers room and we didn't get them at all unless we were on some sort of training that needed them. Even then, we didn't get ammo unless we were going to the range, and its distribution was carefully limited.

BTW, the VA hospital I go to has a strict no guns policy.

The military, it seems, knows more than most just what damage guns can do and doesn't treat them as lightly as NRA or facebook wannabes.

[Niceguy1]

4. the military

Isn't reperesentative of the civilian world. Nowhere else do you have the firearm density as on a base. Who wants to carry a firearm all of the time? What a pita.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Back then it was M-14's and 45's as sidearms...

all the M-16's went to Viet Nam.

Yes the damn things were heavy and a real pain in the ass to lug around. Why people fight to lug them around is beyond me.

[Recursion]

8. The Navy Yard? Not really. There's probably an armory, somewhere

but I never ran into it. It's a bunch of office buildings and a museum.

[Niceguy1]

9. I eas referring

To the post above referring to military bases in general locking firearms up,

[Nanjing to Seoul]

3. We need more good guys with guns. We need more guns.

[Jeneral2885]

10. I already made the point that

there was one navy personnel with a gun but he failed to shoot back. Put the blame on him?

[Lee-Lee]

11. It likely wasn't anyone Navy

But a contract security guard or civilian DOD police. DOD regulations don't allow anyone to carry concealed on base. Even when I go to drill with my Army Reserve unit I can't even lock my pistol in my car unless I park across the street off DOD property.

As for how the gun swapped hands, way to little info to know or Monday morning quarterback at this point. Anyone going in to a pistol vs shotgun fight on the pistol end is already at a disadvantage. Could have been a surprise issue, could have been that the distance was enough that he missed with the pistol, but it was an easier shot with the shotgun. And some people when faced with having to shoot another person, even in defense of self or others, freeze up.

Simply not enough info to now right now. And in pretty damm poor taste to try and put blame on somebody who likely gave his life attempting to stop the killing.