Hours after a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, left at least four people dead on Wednesday, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he supports allowing members of the military to carry concealed weapons on military bases.
McCaul, appearing on Fox News, said he believes "if you’re trained for combat, you ought to be able to carry a weapon."
A gunman killed and wounded multiple people at the Fort Hood military base Wednesday before shooting himself to death, authorities said. The base was the scene of a mass shooting in 2009 that killed 13 people.
Fox News' Megyn Kelly asked McCaul about a bill introduced shortly after the 2009 shooting that would have allowed members of the military who have permits for concealed weapons to carry them on base. The bill failed to advance.
"This is the deal, Megyn, is that al Qaeda and terrorists and jihadists are targeting our military bases, that is a fact," McCaul said. "And if they are trained in warfare, they can carry weapons in warfare, it seems to me there is some logic to allowing them to carry weapons on a military base where they can defend themselves."
McCaul said the "problem" in both Fort Hood shootings was that members of the military were not armed, and thus unable to "defend themselves."
"So I think the policy makers, Congress, we need to revisit this procedure, this policy to see if we should arm them so they can better protect themselves," McCaul said.
He faces opposition from the Fort Hood commander. "I don't think soldiers should have concealed weapons on base," Lt. Gen. Mark Milley said at a news conference Wednesday night.