Topeka Capital-Journal - Rep. Lynn Jenkins Recalls John Booker Jr. Case in Call for Arming Military Recruiters

Statement

By Justin Wingerter

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins made reference to the case of a young Topeka man indicted on terrorism charges Wednesday in making the case for legislation allowing military officers to carry weapons at recruiting centers.

"Last week, there was a horrific act of terror in Tennessee. And earlier this year, a young man was arrested at home in Kansas while allegedly attempting a similar attack," said Jenkins, a Republican. "These are stark reminders that even here at home our brave men and women remain targets of those who wish to do us harm."

John Booker Jr., of Topeka, was arrested April 10 near Fort Riley and charged in federal court with attempting to detonate a suicide bomb at the military installation. Booker faces one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State militant group.

On Thursday, Kuwaiti-born Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, fired dozens of rounds into a military recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tenn., before driving to a second site where he shot and killed four Marines and a Navy officer. In addition to the deceased, a Marine recruiter and police officer also were injured.

The Tennessee shooting has prompted a chorus of conservatives calling for the Department of Defense to arm military recruiters or provide armed support at recruitment centers.

"Our military men and women should feel empowered, no matter where they are serving," Jenkins said. "It is indefensible that those we have trained to use firearms to protect us are not afforded the same basic "right to bear arms' while on duty here at home."

The office of Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Republican representing Kansas' 1st District, said Wednesday that Huelskamp supports the effort. Rep. Kevin Yoder stated his support in a Facebook post Friday.

"Our men and women in uniform should not have to fear for their lives when they return home from the battlefield to be stationed at a recruiting center," Yoder wrote. Yoder is a Republican representing Johnson County in eastern Kansas.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., introduced the Securing Military Personnel Response Firearm Initiative Act, or "Semper Fi Act," on Tuesday, a reference to the Marine Corps slogan "semper fidelis." Hunter is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

Legislation going even farther has also been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas. The Safeguarding Service Members' Second Amendment Rights Act would repeal bans dating back to 1992 on military members carrying firearms at military installations and other Department of Defense sites.

"The Second Amendment guarantees the "right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,' yet our men and women in uniform are banned from exercising this constitutional right when fulfilling their duties on American soil," Moran said in a statement.

A Department of Defense directive issued in February 1992 prevented most members of the military from carrying firearms on military installations except in cases when "there is a reasonable expectation that life or DoD assets will be jeopardized if firearms are not carried."

Moran's legislation would repeal the directive and halt enforcement of any other law, rule, regulation or executive order preventing military personnel from carrying firearms on military sites in the U.S. It also prohibits the president, the secretary of defense or secretaries of any military branch from reinstating firearm bans in the future.

"My legislation would repeal the laws, directives and regulations disarming military personnel, and empower our brave service men and women to defend themselves and others from violent attacks and acts of domestic terrorism," Moran said.

Moran's office said Wednesday that his bill provides an exclusion for mental health, allowing commanders to assess whether military personnel may be a danger to themselves or others.

"Sen. Moran's legislation is the most comprehensive legislation on the table to address gun-free zones at military sites and restore our service member's 2nd amendment rights and ability to defend themselves," Garrette Turner, the senator's communications director, said in an email.

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