Hegseth Orders an End to ‘Gun Free’ Military Installations ***UPDATED***

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that, beginning immediately, active duty service members can request permission to carry their own personal firearm on base for self-defense. According to Hegseth, there will be a presumption on the part of base commanders that the service member’s request should be granted, and if it’s denied, the reason for that must be in writing. 

Our military installations have been turned into gun-free zones—leaving our service members vulnerable and exposed.

That ends today. pic.twitter.com/IQ204YepZ0

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 2, 2026

Hegseth’s announcement was cheered by many Second Amendment advocates. 

This is awesome. We need to end these everywhere. Gun free zones leave law abiding citizens defenseless.

— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) April 2, 2026

This is awesome! Thank you for restoring the lost Second Amendment rights of our servicemen and women! 🔫

— Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) April 2, 2026

Yea! My son was deployed in Iraq when Hasan shot up Ft. Hood, but that’s where his 1st Cav Bn was home-based. Soldiers who could’ve limited the extent of the tragedy were disarmed due to PCness.

— D. Bruce Crawford (@BruceD48698) April 2, 2026

This is a huge step forward, and the right move for Hegseth to make. As he pointed out, there have been multiple incidents at military bases throughout the country where active shooters, including some service members themselves, have tried to murder as many warfighters as possible. And because the DoD’s rules have made it nearly impossible for anyone other than military police and a select few others to carry firearms on base, there has been little change that those killers will encounter immediate armed resistance. 

That will soon change, though there are still some details that Hegseth didn’t discuss in his video, including this question.

SecWar, I’m sure civilian employees and contractors are wondering if they will be allowed to also carry on their respective installations.
This would help prevent another atrocity like we saw at the Washington Navy Yard.

Will their rights be taken into consideration as well?

— Great Value™️ Ron Jeremy (@BradK1996) April 2, 2026

Does this policy apply solely to active duty members of the military, or does it also apply to civilian employees and contractors who can lawfully carry when they’re not on base? What about military spouses and any adult children who live in on-base housing with their parents? If a civilian who’s married to a service member can carry at a civilian grocery store off-base, shouldn’t they be able to carry at the PX and other areas of the installation where they’re allowed to be? 

Hegseth also didn’t mention any kind of appeals process for those who are denied their ability to carry on base. In the civilian world, there’s generally some way for a carry applicant to appeal their denial, especially if its for a subjective reason like a supposed lack of good moral character. It’s quite possible that some base commanders aren’t going to be in favor of this policy and will deny as many applicants as they can. Do those service members have any recourse if the denial is based more on opposition to the policy than the applicant themselves? 

My guess is that we’ll get more details on this important policy change very soon. If the policy is limited solely to active duty service members I hope the secretary will be open to modifying the language to encompass as many lawful gun owners as possible who live and work in these installations, including those who have sworn an oath to defend this nation. 

***UPDATE***

More information on the policy change from Stephen Gutowski at The Reload, who says the policy will apply to those active duty military members who are on base but off-duty. And it sounds like the change will be limited to allow only those who are active duty service members to carry. 

The Department of Defense (DOD), which the Trump Administration has given the secondary title of Department of War, did not release a copy of the memo. However, it pointed to language in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act as the basis for Hegseth’s authority to change how gun-carry decisions are made on military property. That law includes a subsection that authorizes the Secretary of Defense to create a process for how local commanders could authorize those assigned to their installations to “carry an appropriate firearm” if or when “the commander determines that carrying such a firearm is necessary as a personal- or force-protection measure.”

The memo’s directives do not appear to apply to anyone who is not an active-duty member of the armed forces.  However, DOD said the memo applies a similar standard to the Pentagon’s police force, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. But, it said, it “stops short of allowing personal-carry within the walls of the building.”

Stephen has an excellent write-up on Hegseth’s announcement, so be sure and read his entire piece. And if you’re not yet a member of The Reload, now’s a great time to join. 

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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