Hegseth Authorizes Off-Duty Service Members to Carry Private Firearms on Installations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum announcing that military installations could permit uniformed personnel to bring personally owned guns onto military installations. The memorandum excluded the Pentagon but instructed leaders to consider allowing individuals to leave personally owned guns in cars they park in the Pentagon's parking lots. In a press release on the memo, Hegseth was quoted as saying that "Not all enemies are foreign, nor are they all outside of our borders — some are domestic," and that "Confirming your God-given right to self-protection is what I am signing into action today, and I'm proud to do so." The policy reverses longstanding restrictions from the early 1990s, which limited carrying of firearms to law enforcement and security personnel or others with a specific mission requirement.