--- title: Lawmakers, Officials Debate Guns on Base After Fort Hood Shooting description: In the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Fort Hood, lawmakers and military officials are weighing in on base security canonical: https://time.com/51105/fort-hood-guns-base-debate/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-06T19:35:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:52:32.505Z article:section: Politics og:title: Lawmakers, Officials Debate Guns on Base After Fort Hood Shooting og:description: In the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Fort Hood, lawmakers and military officials are weighing in on base security og:url: https://time.com/51105/fort-hood-guns-base-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22a16518490cfb4d/69868922e53aba5ea94d1dd5/482539845.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Fort Hood Shooting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lawmakers, Officials Debate Guns on Base After Fort Hood Shooting twitter:description: In the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Fort Hood, lawmakers and military officials are weighing in on base security twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22a16518490cfb4d/69868922e53aba5ea94d1dd5/482539845.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lawmakers, Officials Debate Letting Soldiers Carry Guns on Base > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c493ff3f-9ef6-4a18-ba66-5cc6803cc04b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Lawmakers, Military At Odds Over Arming Soldiers On Post [Watch (HLS stream): Lawmakers, Military At Odds Over Arming Soldiers On Post](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S7mIIePZ.m3u8) (1:12)  _Published 2014-04-06. Republican Rep. Mike McCaul and Sen. Lindsey Graham have both suggested allowing concealed weapons on military posts would deter future shootings._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) and [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) Apr 6, 2014 7:35 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) and [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) Apr 6, 2014 7:35 PM UTC Lawmakers and military officials weighed in on Sunday morning on the wisdom of allowing soldiers to carry private weapons on bases, after the deadly shooting at Fort Hood last week prompted a debate about base security. Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican from Texas, suggested arming soldiers would be a good way to prevent shoot-outs. “We need to talk to the commanders about whether it would make sense to have not all but maybe some of our senior leadership officers, enlisted men on the base, carrying weapons for protection,” he said on CBS’s _Face the Nation_. But Pentagon officials and military commanders have said it would likely be a poor idea, said Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to President Obama, on _Face the Nation_. And Michael Mullen, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said he was not in favor of the idea. “I’m not one, as someone who’s been on many, many bases and posts, that would argue for arming anybody that’s on base,” Mullen said on NBC’s _Meet the Press_. ## Transcript How to stop mass shootings on military posts. That was a focus of debate across the Sunday shows after Wednesday's Fort Hood shooting of four people dead. And Texas representative Mike McCall says allowing more soldiers to carry weapons, is the way to do it. Maybe look at the idea, a common sense idea of senior leadership at these bases, officers and enlisted men. That you can trust the idea that they can at least carry a weapon on the base. But while that idea enjoys popular support among conservative lawmakers, it doesn't have the endorsement of military leadership. The former chairman of the Joins Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said this on Meet the Press. I'm not one that would argue for arming anybody that's on base. I think that actually invites much more difficult challenges. Military police said the suspect shooter Ivan Lopez killed himself after injuring 16 others and killing three. His weapon, a 45- caliber handgun was not registered at Fort Hood, as it was required to be when he entered the post. Soldiers are not allowed to carry concealed weapons at the post. Last week the army's chief of staff also rebuked a suggestion that more soldiers carry weapons on post, saying that should be reserved for military police. 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