Those Marines were allowed to have their weapons.

[Fawke Em]

For those of you battling the gun nuts in the trenches, let me help you combat their narrative about guns not being allowed at the recruitment center in the strip mall: they were killed, rest their souls, at the BASE, not at the recruitment center in the strip mall.

The strip mall owner has the right, under Tennessee law, to permit or not to permit their renters and guests to carry weaponry. In many cases, most business owners bar guns outright because of insurance reasons and, well, to keep nuts out. If you want to write a law allowing the military to carry them at strip malls, fine, but, in this case, the four Marines who were killed were on the Naval Reserve Base where they COULD have been armed.

They aren't required to carry their weapons, but they can have them.

The issue is why are our young men snapping like twigs and amassing small arsenals enabling them to kill at will - not some stupid argument about whether strip malls should allow weaponry.

And, sadly, in this incident, these people were ambushed. Not much anyone can do about that.

[ileus]

1. concealed means concealed...

Of course unless they were open carrying rifles and wearing quality body armor they'd not had much chance except being able to shoot back.

[GP6971]

2. No, they couldn't carry their weapons even

if the landlord allowed it. The Corps would have to allow it and they would have to sign their weapons out of the arms of the arms room. That's if even their recruiting battalion was even authorized to be issued weapons. My guess is probably not.

[951-Riverside]

3. That is a bit misleading. They are not permitted by the military to carry weapons...

The business owner has nothing to do with that.

[Duckhunter935]

4. Not true

As a military member for 20 years I have been to many posts and weapons are not allowed except to hunt ant to and from the ranges.

[X_Digger]

5. Military policy says otherwise. Which one do you think a marine obeys?

[madville]

6. Wow, I hope nobody believes this

Nothing in the OP is factual, GSA-leased spaces like strip malls are still considered "military property" as far as firearms restrictions go and service members are generally not allowed to carry firearms on base unless conducting a specific drill/exercise, going to the range, or acting in a specific security or on-base law enforcement role.

[Hoyt]

7. There's a reason(s) they aren't permitted to carry weapons. Gun fanciers know why, they just don't

like to admit it. Just goes to show that even the military knows all the trainingr doesn't stop the bad outcomes.

[gratuitous]

8. Whether they had weapons or not

My understanding is that Mr. Abdulazziz started peppering away from his car outside the office. Now, unless you're willing to post (and pay) an armed guard at every plate glass window along a strip mall, you're pretty much going to be vulnerable to this kind of attack.

Now, we could fashion a society where it's harder for anyone who wants one to get a gun. Or we could conduct ourselves in a manner that doesn't make a billion people so mad at us that they're willing to kill us even at the risk of their own lives. But that might mean acting in a less exceptionally exceptional manner, and we know that ain't America. But it would be something to see.

[sarisataka]

9. Smell check

[linuxman]

10. Bullshit.

Marines are unauthorized to carry firearms while on duty (unless involved in combat operations, guard duty, MP, etc...), regardless of the rules of the venue where they are working.