The U.S. military has been abused by the current administration horribly. Frustratingly, the current administration, like the Obama and Clinton administrations before it, treats the military like a social experiment instead of the fighting force to protect Americans and Americans’ rights that it was created to be.
We could go through a multitude of examples, but one easy one to pick is how members of the military, even though they are thoroughly trained on the safe and proper handling and use of firearms, aren’t allowed to carry firearms on bases and military installations, with the exception of Military Policy (MPs). That gun ban on bases went into effect under Bill Clinton. In fact, it was one of his first actions when going into office in March 1993. That gun ban made the horrible Fort Hood mass shooting possible in 2009 in that no one was immediately able to return fire against the shooter when he attacked other military personnel. And, according to at least one source, the Fort Hood shooting “was the deadliest mass shooting on an American military base.”
What you may not know is that Americans living a rather nomadic lifestyle, like military members, often have difficulty with getting personal firearms because their state of residency may not be where they live, and they may move regularly (or constantly, if they live in an RV, for example).
A recently introduced piece of legislation aims to prevent that difficulty so that members of our military and other people living nomadic lifestyles can have an easier time having legal access to their firearms in more places. Caden Pearson writes,
A bill reintroduced in the U.S. Senate aims to fix the problems faced by people who live a nomadic lifestyle or don’t have a permanent address and wish to register a firearms license.
The Traveler’s Gun Rights Act would allow people who live full-time in RVs, have multiple homes, or are military personnel and their spouses to register alternate addresses on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) paperwork.
Currently, firearm buyers are required to list an address on ATF paperwork, but PO Boxes or Private Mailboxes (PMBs) are prohibited. This restriction adversely affects full-time travelers, many of whom live in their RVs year-round and rely on PO Boxes or PMBs to receive mail.
U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced the legislation in a bid to remove what they see as an unfair denial of Second Amendment rights for Americans with unique living situations.
“No law-abiding American should be denied their Second Amendment rights,” Crapo said in a statement. “Military spouses and RV owners are just two examples of full-time travelers who are blocked from obtaining a firearm under current law. The Traveler’s Gun Rights Act is a commonsense solution that will finally address this oversight.”
This legislation is a good idea. No American citizen should be denied their legal rights just because the government wants to track them (you didn’t really think gun registration and firearms licenses were about anything else, did you?), and the idea behind this legislation would make it easier for more law-abiding citizens, especially members of the military (who, of all people, should know how to be safe with a firearm) to have legal access to their guns.
That’s how it should be.
