Hegseth Orders Easier Personal Firearms Access On Military Bases

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum on April 2, 2026 directing installation commanders to allow service members to request permission to carry privately owned firearms on military installations with a "presumption of approval," the Pentagon said.

Hegseth framed the policy as a Second Amendment and personal-protection measure and cited the 2019 attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola, a 2025 shooting at Fort Stewart, and a 2026 shooting at Holloman Air Force Base, the Pentagon said.

Tanya Schardt of the Brady gun violence prevention organization warned the move could "undoubtedly" increase gun suicide and other violence, noting most active-duty suicides involve personally owned weapons, she said.

The memorandum builds on section 526 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, requires denials to be explained in detail and in writing, and directs Pentagon officials to update regulations to formalize the approval process, the Pentagon said.

The memo assigns the undersecretary of war for intelligence and security to update War Department Manual 5200.08 and directs the Pentagon Force Protection Agency to apply the presumption of approval while allowing storage of privately owned firearms in vehicles on the Pentagon Reservation but not carry inside the building.