(courtesy pvamu.edu)

“I have always been perplexed by the knee-jerk opposition of some veterans to any mention of gun control,” Marine Matthew Hess writes at marinecorpstimes.com. “After all, the military’s standards for weapons safety are exceptionally high.” You know where this one’s going: civilians aren’t trained enough to safely handle firearms. And hey! The government puts prospective Leathernecks through a background check. So why not all gun buyers? But don’t get Sgt. Hess wrong . . .

 I do not believe that citizens who pass reasonable background checks and meet eligibility requirements should be prevented from owning guns.

Sgt. Hess’ remark pegs the condescension meter at 11. It also displays a stunning lack of consideration for — and understanding of — the Second Amendment; a document that makes no mention of “background checks” or “eligibility requirements” while prohibiting the government from infringing on Americans’ natural and civil right to keep and bear arms.

But I must question the yield-no-ground attitude toward gun control that I have heard from many of my friends. Of course, we will never be able to prevent every gun crime or mass shooting, and criminals will always be able to obtain guns illegally. However, responsible gun owners should want to make it more difficult, not easier, for criminals and terrorists to obtain these weapons. Further restrictions on gun ownership would not prevent law-abiding citizens from owning guns. Extensive background checks on gun purchases should be common sense, as should training requirements for concealed carry permits.

And I question any Marine who questions anyone’s “yield-no-ground” attitude about anything. I thought refusing to surrender ground — symbolic or physical — was the entire point of the U.S. Marine Corps. In fact, Sgt. Hess is on the offense; his rant has moved from supporting “reasonable background checks” to arguing for “extensive background checks.”

As if that wasn’t enough to rile any veteran who swore an oath to uphold and defend the United States Constitution, and I’m thinking it is, Sgt. Hess goes full you-know-what.

We should be willing to at least consider other forms of gun control, such as prohibitions on military-grade assault rifles, like those used in San Bernardino. I support my friends in their desire to protect themselves and their loved ones, but I do not trust every person in America to own a gun.  Veterans — with their weapons experience and training — have a responsibility to lead the fight for more secure gun laws.

The comments under the article have been, shall we say, less than supportive. Like this from Mike Seven Andrew:

How about you go sit on a railspike while suck-starting a sidearm? “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.” There is no ambiguity in the language. Keep your dick-skinners off my goddamn guns.

Mr. Andrew may say that, but I couldn’t possibly comment. Any more than I already have.

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111 COMMENTS

  1. Sounds like your typical programmed government go-bot. Maybe he’s being paid by DOD to con Americans.

  2. Really, he is gonna go there. Of the five marines I personally know I would only trust two with weapons and my life. 1 is parasitic philanderer; one an abusive spouse; one a pot smoking narcissist who has checked himself into a psych ward cause his girl threatened to leave him. and the other two, standup guys with multiple tours who view the 2nd as inviolable. Apparently the author thinks too highly of himself.

    • The only ND I have ever witnessed, besides my own singular mishap, was from my marine friend who put a hole through the wall of our mutual friend’s house with a HK 91. It was about 5 feet away from a similarly sized hole, which I learned had been created by said homeowner’s father in law… also a marine.

  4. Use your extensive training to educate the general public on firearms safety. Or would that soak up too much of your time? I hear Canada could use a few and proud.

  5. The .mil is a government job. Plenty of patriots sign up, but so do the…well, the kind of people who think the government is the greatest good.

  6. “Former Sgt. Matthew Hess served in the Marine Corps from 2009-2015 and is now a freshman at Columbia University in New York City.”

    Looks like he accepted the Columbia brainwash at least as well as he did bootcamp. I think he’s just trying to score with some libtard co-ed.

    • Any idea of what he did in the Corps? In my time in the Army I noticed that you tended to have a higher percentage of anti gun REMF’s than combat arms guys. Marines are no exception.

    • Members of the USMC (and military at large) are simply a microcosm of the general population—so yes, you will get various opinions and backgrounds. I knew a few guys from the New England area who were fully indoctrinated anti’s (guns for me because of .gov training–but not for common peons). Not to mention, he is FULLY aware of the knee-jerk decisions/reactions from his higher chain of command. Apparently, he figured why fight it and just accepted it as good to go. He’ll fit in nicely at Columbia—ready to complete the lobotomy.

    • He just wants to date liberal chicks because they’re easy. He’ll become a short-term hero and then regret it later in life.

  7. Well at least we know there is a willing stormtrooper to do the dirty work for the ruling elite. If he’s lucky, he’ll get a few more scraps than the rest of the peasantry for his obedience. Pick up your jack boots to the right Sarge.

    • If we’re going to keep the stormtrooper analogy going, even Stormtroopers bail on the government sometimes. The lead in the newest Star Wars realizes his government is a bunch of fascists and breaks ranks.

      I doubt this guy, if he exists, would do the same. I question his existence because I do not know of a single Marine who would say such things.

  8. All General Gage really wanted to do was impose “reasonable” restrictions on civilian-owned firearms in Boston. And of course, since he represented the government, he got to decide what’s “reasonable.”

    No citizen has the right to keep and bear arms, if the government can impose “reasonable” restrictions and the government determines what’s “reasonable.”

    Background checks seem reasonable until you realize that the government decides who passes and who fails.

  9. Sgt. Quisling, err, I mean Von Hess must of had a ghost writer to help him. There’s no way that many grammatically correct sentences came from a walking sandbag, aka Marine, like him.
    For Americas sake, I hope the PTSD gets to him soon and he sticks a gun in his cock holster and blows his brains out.
    Fizzy Douche award of the week so far.

    • He probably wrote it himself. Probably 10-20% of Marine Corps recruits are simply ladder climbing careerists, looking to put another “achievement” on their resume. Before enrolling at Columbia, hoping to get on the Fed welfare roll further downtown.

      This schmuck will likely say whatever he thinks will help him kiss up to some Goldman recruiter.

      And, btw, shall not be infringed is not qualified to exclude “terrorists and criminals.” Once convicted and hung, fine, but until then, they have all the same rights as some government apologist insult to the Marine Corps.

      • And, btw, shall not be infringed is not qualified to exclude “terrorists and criminals.” Once convicted and hung, fine, but until then, they have all the same rights as some government apologist insult to the Marine Corps.

        Yup.

  10. I have trouble believing that someone who wrote “We should be willing to at least consider other forms of gun control, such as prohibitions on military-grade assault rifles, like those used in San Bernardino” is actually a Marine. Stolen Valor anyone?

    • This–you got there before I came here. Second so-called “Marine” I’ve seen commenting on gun control in a week that carelessly equates civilian semi-autos with actual military weapons. In fact, I’m gonna be skeptical of any alleged military bona-fides of any guy who uses the term “assault weapon” to refer to civilian-market firearms. To put it another way–how many Marines really don’t know the difference between an AR-15 and an M16?

      • Probably Marines who grew up in slave states and cities like the author here. It did say he was from New York City I believe which explains everything plus out of all the universities he could choose he chose one of the one’s leading the charge for civilian disarmament.

        If you came from the background I mentioned above and your first experience with a firearm is in the military then you will have zero knowledge of the civilian gun community and if anything you will ASSume that it is the same in the military so this hoplophobe believes we can buy full-auto M4’s at gun shows with no background checks!!

        Like has been pointed out on this very thread and all over the gun community
        just because someone signs up for the military even the fighting branches does not make them weapon experts or knowledgeable of the civilian firearms market and how it operates.

      • “carelessly equates civilian semi-autos with real military weapons.”

        Sorry but this is one piece of gun-rights rhetoric that is stupid and almost an outright lie. The difference between my personal AR-15 and the M4 I used for 8 years in the Army infantry (and still use once a month in the PA guard) is one useless feature – three round burst. I never used it except for fun at CQM ranges. Nobody uses it. We’re trained to only use semi. Quick accurate shots. So in practical usage, the weapons are identical. It’s disingenuous and dishonest to pretend they aren’t. Just because the grabbers lie and twist the truth doesn’t mean we have to stoop to their level.

        But that doesn’t and shouldn’t matter. Because the 2nd Amendment guarantees our right to bear all arms, including assault rifles. Patriots in the Revolutionary War had better personal weapons than the British, not worse.

        • Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t M16s full-auto capable? If so, I would consider that quite a difference–and the precise difference that the grabbers are trying to obscure.

        • Never mind–a little google-fu, and it appears that some are full-auto capable, and some are only burst- and semi-capable. So I’m sticking with the overall tenor of my statement. If you want to call it “stupid” and “an outright lie”, go ahead.

        • I’ve never seen a full auto M16 though I think one of the versions does have it. Combat arms guys only use M4s. There is a full auto version of the M4 also, but again I’ve never seen one. And regardless, full auto on a rifle is wasteful and inaccurate. Which is why we don’t use it. Full auto is for belt fed machine guns and SMGs.

          And I shouldn’t have said “stupid,” because I don’t intend to insult you. It’s just one of those things that smacks of doublespeak and that’s why I don’t like it. Calling an assault rifle that can’t shoot auto or burst a sporting rifle is disingenuous, even if that’s all anyone’s using it for. But again, we should still be able to own them. And full-auto capable weapons to boot.

        • Well, the ones used in San Bernadino were sold with Bullet Buttons – not a feature common in the military.

        • Yeah and that “useless feature” is the difference between a $500 AR-15 and a $20,000 M-16 and a whole lotta federal forms, taxes, and investigative work.

      • This thread seems to have generated a bit of a stir so I’ll weigh in. From wikipedia:
        “An assault rifle is a fully automatic selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. ”
        There’s no need to argue about something when the facts are readily available. Three round burst is not relevant, either. The BATFE says any firearm that loads and fires a second time without manual manipulation of the trigger is a full auto NFA arm. Even a two round burst leagally qualifies as a full auto.

        • I think my point was missed, probably because I was unclear and came off as a dick!

          I understand the dictionary distinction between assault rifle and semi-automatic rifle. But when you could arm a US Army infantry squad with civilian-legal AR-15s and they wouldn’t even notice (since they don’t use the burst setting), the distinction goes away in practical usage.

          The real point is this – the grabbers have decided that we, the people, shouldn’t be allowed to have a full-auto (or burst of any number) function on our rifles. It’s just one step. The next one they want to take, as in Kalifornia, is to take away our semi-auto “sporting” rifles. They made the distinction of M4/M16 Assault Rifle and AR-15 Semi-Auto Rifle important. We shouldn’t follow their lead. Whether automatic fire in a lightweight rifle firing an intermediate cartridge is useful or not, we the people should still have that option. Unless you believe the NFA was lawful and good?

  11. Being a former active duty Marine Infantryman myself, I recognize the type of Marine that Sgt. Hess is. He is suffering from a lack of knowledge about the politics of the 2nd Amendment and an arrogance that “I am a the professional lead slinger, my opinion is more important than yours.”

    • He is a Grade-A Papa Oscar Gulf…It’s funny how many coastal libtards join the USMC…They really need to indoctrinate them with a healthy respect for the constitution…

  12. Prohibitions on military grade assault rifles? Maybe he has never heard of the ’34 NFA or the Hughes Amendment to FOPA.

    He couldn’t be talking about my AR-15 could he? Doesn’t he know that not a single military in the world, including ours and his beloved Corp would NEVER issue an AR-15? They would issue an M16 or M4 instead.

    This guy sounds like he would be one of the guys busting down doors to confiscate guns from citizens and when the excrement hits the fan, he will claim he was “just following orders”.

    My admiration for the Marines was lowered today by this guy.

    • I think I am subbed to your youtube channel! In the Army we never referred to rifles or carbines as Assault Rifles…I don’t know what kind of hardcore chaplain assistant POG wrote this garbage…He needs to suck start Uncle Biden’s shotgun…

    • Actually, the Marine Corps recently considered upgrading the M16A4 with semi auto triggers due to their improved accuracy resulting from more consistent trigger pulls and, as someone above mentioned, the fact that we are trained to use semiauto anyways.

    • Columbia University is known to be home to some of the worst collegiate antisemitic activity in the United States. It’s home to the well-known antisemitic professors such as Rashid Khalidi and Joseph Massad, both of whom have a track record of outright harassment of Jewish (and Christian) students on multiple occasions. Columbia Univ allowed their SJP chapter to bring nut jobs like BDS founder Omar Barghouti and disgraced antisemitic professor Steven Salaita to campus events. Good call Hess. Just rename it Caliphate University.

  14. Unlike Hess, some of us have been fighting the gun rights battle for decades. We have seen the steady trudge of infringement here, ban there, “commonsense gun control” proposal as a Trojan Horse for something else. We even recall when the leaders of the movement spoke about misdirection and their true plans.

    In other words, we suspect that Hess is either naive or on the other side.

  15. I wonder how he would respond to the idea of tightening the restrictions on those with psychological issues, such as ptsd or those that show a tendency towards violence, like maybe ex-marines?

    This that aren’t effected by restrictions never seem to have a problem with them.

    • The path along the “prohibited persons” route naturally leads to those with military training. They’re trained, dangerous, and not under the control of our government benefactors any more. My bet would be his feelings change should that day ever come.

  17. He’s entitled to his opinion.

    As a Marine, he’s earned the right to be heard, but not necessarily accepted.

    • “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

      ― Harlan Ellison

  19. Former Sgt. Matthew Hess served in the Marine Corps from 2009-2015 and is now a freshman at Columbia University in New York City.

    This says it all.

    However, responsible gun owners should want to make it more difficult, not easier, for criminals and terrorists to obtain these weapons.

    Gun control doesn’t make it more difficult for criminals to get guns. It makes it more difficult for would-be gun owners (with no ill intent) to get guns.

  20. This is exactly why we see exemptions carved out for LEO and ex-military ALL THE DAMNED TIME at the local and state level for former law enforcement and veterans of the armed forces.

    If they can get some of them on their side then there’s less of a stink when they deny the rest of us essential liberties.

    • LEOSA covers any qualified retired or separated law enforcement, but NOT any veterans (active/reserve/discharged). Police will usually accept other police as the only ones “qualified” to carry everywhere. That’s not always the case, of course, but we generally get the same shaft as civilians. All bases, reserve centers, and federal buildings are havens of disarmament (though that may be changing as some base commanders will get to make that decision).

  21. Marine times?

    Military is supposed to stay out of domestic politics; indeed, the individual opportunity for citizens to live their lives free of mandate, coercion or “nudge” is what they fight for, for us.

    “No better friend. No worse enemy.”, indeed, yet who is who?

    This once active duty Marine is as free as any other citizen to engage in politics. Doing so “as a Marine” and via a corps instrument makes him the instrument of state coercion, and us the enemu.

    • This is all you need to know about the Marine Corps Times. “Not A U.S. Government PublicationA Military Times & Sightline Media Group Site” A Tegna Co. previously the Gannett Corporation.

      • Thanks, man.

        Well, then, he can shoot his mouth off in his particular alumni association rag all he wants, and one counter argument when his screed is quoted by the anti’s is built in. (“Well, the ‘Marine Times’ is not a USMC publication. I assumed wrong, too, from the name.”)

        And of course, he makes an excellent case for widely available civilian training at arms. Just like the NRA provides, among others.

  22. “After all, the military’s standards for weapons safety are exceptionally high.”

    Anyone who’s been in the military knows that’s a line of horseshit. The military’s standards are incompetent, paranoid, and lack real firearms handling. I trust a “gun toting redneck” not to have an ND way before I would any random service member.

  24. Remember that oath you took, Sgt Hess? Who are you to defend? Time to do some scholarship on our inherent rights as protected by the Constitution, and how our rights and resultant responsibilities interact with same. You are so profoundly ignorant – you really need to stop talking altogether.

    • Yup. I’m reminded of a couple times my squad would just be coming back into the FOB, Gunny is making a run back to battalion and needs bodies for the convoy so instead of sleep we go on a convoy run. We get there and make a beeline for the chow hall only to be stopped by some rear echelon fvck telling us that our uniforms were “unservicable” and we should have shaved…..he’s that guy.

    • This guy is the result of “institutional inbreeding”, is lacks the most rudimentary capacity for deductive, rational thought. There’s no way he every asked a question or had the balls to question any SNCO or Office his entire life (I considered it my civic duty!) That’s why I had to get out – it was like being awake in some Matrix-like intellectual wasteland.

  27. My neighbor is a Marine who served in Vietnam. He doesn’t know squat about guns and I get nervous when he has one in his hand. On the other hand, I ride motorcycles with a friend who was in the Special Forces in Vietnam and I trust him. He rides shotgun on our rides and he is armed as I am as the leader.

  28. I suspect the author is a made-up persona, just like all of the talking points in the article are made-up. I never served, but have several Army and Marine friends. There is no way this author is an authentic Marine. Marine Corps Times is a branch of USA Today, after all.

  30. Military-grade assault rifles are already heavily regulated under the NFA. The rifles used in San Bernardino were not assault rifles and were, in any case, illegally transferred. No background check would have stopped that.

  31. Candy ass. The whole point of the Corps is to pile responsibility upon responsibility until people rise to the occasion. As a leader, you are supposed to carefully guide the growth and knowledge of others, as your leaders should do for you, not leave the inexperienced stuffed in some do nothing job because they may screw up. I knew “leaders” like him. They all sucked. Sometimes literally (oops, not PC, my bad). The “former marines” I know of where losers when they were in, and become bigger losers once they leave. They invariably think that they’re owed something for getting paid handsomely for a job they volunteered for. The Marines I associate with however tend to be hard line 2a folks like myself. While the general ignorance of firearms safety amongst the general public irritates me, which I also find with some 2a supporters, I like to educate, not restrict. If I cannot trust a man with any weapon, then I really can’t trust him with anything else, like driving, voting, breathing…I fail to see why so many people, even veterans, seem hell bent on surrounding themselves with people like that.

    And for the record, Mr “marines are walking sandbags”, the perception of marines, particularly grunts, as stupid is just flat out wrong.every group of has their “special people”. I’ll say that my experience at least was that they tended to do very poorly, especially in the infantry. Every time I hear about how terribly someone was treated in the Corps, or how nobody ever appreciated them, or how incredibly awesome they were at all things tactical…it’s a safe bet they were either lazy shitbags or stupid shitbags. I’ve learned more about the specifics of shooting and firearms since I got out than I ever thought possible. The marine corps excells at making people very good on certain weapons, with certain round, in certain conditions. There are definitely things I experienced that are usefull in the civilian world, but there are some major gaps which jokers like this are too full of themselves to acknowledge. Moron.

  32. This is why the founding fathers were so correct to give control of the military to civilian leadership.
    He is an example of the national failure to teach the US constitution to everyone.

  35. What has happened to my Marine Corps??! I did not serve with the likes of this guy. But what should I expect from a journalist,(Marine Corps TImes). A Libtard by any other name….

  36. Meh-who cares? Hell my own son served 8 years in the army and spent lots of time in the mid-east,speaks Arabic and was in combat. And works for the gubmint… And he’s at BEST “guns for me but not for thee” especially if you’re a dumb white redneck-at worst he’s a total anti idiot. But he’s still my kid and dad to my grandkids. I extend no such grace to this azzwhole. That is all…

  37. … while prohibiting the government from infringing on Americans’ natural and civil right to keep and bear arms.

    Not only does the Second Amendment prohibit the government from infringing on the RKBA, it specifically requires the government to rectify any any infringement. By anyone. Anywhere.

  38. He was a super pog, hardly well trained at all. His training probably didn’t go past going to the rifle range every year. Well trained my ass. I spent my last six months training guys like him, busting dust on rifle skills and range day was almost always terrifying. and to call anyone outside of combat arms well trained in firearms is a lie.

    Also his constant referral to boot camp tells me one thing, he’s a super boot, and boot camp was probably the hardest thing he ever did

    He opens with a quote,

    “I’ll be damned if the government takes away my Second Amendment right to protect my family.”

    My friend, a fellow veteran, shared this opinion with me, one that I had heard many times during my five years in the Marine Corps.

    His opinion is in the minority in the military. He’s also a freshman at Columbia University, so

    • Hey! I resemble that remark! Not all us POGs are useless, we just have other training priorities… After all, do you want the guy who builds your FOB to be proficient at rifle marksmanship or building damn good fortifications?

      • Thats why I said super pog, I was making a distinction between guys in engineers, motor t, arty, etc, and the guys that work at disbursing, IPAC, or legal.

  39. Marine Corpsmen have a 100% better chance of having used weapons to kill people than I have. Maybe we should have reasonable measures in place to make sure we don’t have Marines that kill. See how silly the noodle waisted left is?

    • Yeah… Tell me more about how it doesn’t take intelligence to work with large quantities of C4 and detcord. Just because this guy is pant on head retarded doesn’t say jack about the rest of the Corps.

  42. I can’t answer for anyone else, but by the time I graduated college and entered the Army I could already field strip a 1911A1, M-14 and M-16 blindfolded. My uncle, a serving Colonel at the time made sure my brother (future JAG) and I were completely familiar with the regulation small arms. So much for the jarhead’s assumption.

  43. 0331 here. I think it’s funny how all the POG’s think that they are such badasses because they have the title of MARINE. Just because someone went through USMC boot camp it does not make them an expert on weapons it makes them barely qualified. This turd sounds more like a staple-gunner.

    I’ve met plenty of people who have no military experience and are very proficient with weapons and I’ve met marines that I didn’t want anywhere near a weapon. Military service does not automatically make you more qualified than everyone else. This guy is obviously just trying to blow the POTUS and anyone else that supports disarmament. To me it seems like he is just trying to get recognized for views that are the opposite of 99% of the marine corps.

    • Former USMC Aviation POG here (88-92). That’s absolutely true. There are Marines that barely have a grasp of basic rifle marksmanship, much less know how to run their weapon, and are lost if they’re not sitting, kneeling or prone. We have a new generation of POG’s that don’t know how to shoot irons (a son of a family friend recently graduated boot camp and I was shocked to hear they NEVER shot irons in boot camp). If you’re not a grunt, you should at least embrace the mindset that you might have to be one on a moment’s notice, and you better damn well have made some preparations for that day. If you’re a POG that can’t embrace that mindset, then you’re a burden to the guys around you. Most units outside the 03 field would go to the range once a year to qualify, and I was always surprised at how many actually tried to get out of it. I went in open contract and ended up in the wing, and was surprised at how little shooting was going on there. I was crushed, to put it mildly. I grew up shooting all the time as a hickabilly kid in east Texas and shot competitively before I went in, so I started shooting matches again to get my gun fix. I had to seek out people to learn from because sure wasn’t learning anything on a flat range once a year. People that want to be proficient in the way of the gun will take the initiative to seek out seats of learning, continue to build their skill set and do so OBJECTIVELY, with multiple sources of knowledge. As for Sgt. Diaper Stain Hess, it’s not too hard to figure out what he would do if unlawfully ordered to fire on civilians.

  44. Well this Marine 0311 Platoon Sergeant has hated gun control since boot camp in 1994. The gun laws in California are better than they are on the grounds of most federal property, including military bases. “Give no ground” sounds like the best possible attitude to have towards gun control. That’s certainly the attitude of the enemy. I don’t see them offering up anything for their continual attacks on freedom.

    They want mag limits, they don’t offer concealed carry reciprocity. They want expanded background checks, they don’t waive waiting periods. They want to ban lead ammo, they still want to ban M855.

  46. Do you know what gun control consisted of at MCRD San Diego circa 1999? Day 2 we line up at the door of the armory and get issued an M16A2. From there it’s TWO MONTHS of nothing but cleaning, locking up, field stripping to a stop watch, and learning to “move the rifle around your head, not your head around the rifle.” Trifle drill is about teaching instant unthinking obedience… but in the process it also gives every single Marine a feeling of mastery over the 7.8 pound piece of aluminum and plastic. Then it’s a week of snap-in, meaning a week of sight-picture and dry fire drills. After all of that we finally head out to the range, and anybody that still can’t hit anything after all of that gets dropped to another company over and over until they pass.

    After that we get to play with automatic weapons and explosives at government expense, at least I did because I was infantry not a goddamn newsie, so Sgt. Hess, if you WANT to force Marine standards onto the general populace then I think we can come to some kind of arrangement. But I promise you’re not gonna like it.

  47. I spent 30 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard..I heard more than a few anti-gunners not only in the USAF but the other branches as well. We often point out to people that most cops are not exactly gun experts, the same goes with the military. Unless you are in an MOS where you carry, use, and maintain guns on a regular basis, you are not much different from anyone else. Most of the ADs I’ve seen were cops or soldiers…I also want to point something else out…the military is very socialistic in a lot of ways, especially for lifers. They are used to someone being charge, if they need something they call someone in charge, they depend others for security etc…many military retirees are flaming liberals…

    • While I cannot speak for the whole of the USAF, I can speak for what I believe to be the overwhelming majority of Non-Commissioned Officers in the military as a whole.

      Your comment concerning – needing someone in charge and retilrees being liberals is BS. From the time we make Corporal we are taught to take charge in the absence of senior leadership and I for one always followed that doctrine.

      Today after being retired for 23 years I still get up everyday and accept the challenge of taking charge and making things happen.

      and of course I must ask- were you a Commisioned Officer which would explain your post!

      Just kidding, but really.I have met very few NCO’s in any branch who did not operate autonomously when needed to.

  48. “military-grade assault rifle”
    I’ve never served, but I do know that anyone in the Army or Marines who calls their issued weapon and/or sidearm a “gun,” “firearm,” etc within earshot of the nearest DI (or a particularly enthusiastic CO) will be chewed out until sunrise. This guy obviously held on to the antis’ favorite buzzword because it fits his personal agenda, an agenda he likely held long before signing the dotted line at the local recruiting office. Then there’s this gem…

    “Veterans — with their weapons experience and training — have a responsibility to lead the fight for more secure gun laws.”
    Based on the limited sample size I’ve met, the only veterans who tout such elitist opinions and preach the latest social justice fad either served in the Navy, vote Democrat, or both. Even the Air Force grunt I knew in college had a 2nd Amendment patch sewn to his backpack. That doesn’t mean exceptions like Hess don’t pop up once in a while, but a trend has indeed been set, Army and Marine guys tend to be pro-gun and vote accordingly. Finally, there’s the fact that this asshole willingly subjects himself to attendance at Columbia University, which speaks for itself entirely.

  50. If you came from the background like the author did probably from living in a slave state or city and your first experience with a firearm is in the military then you will have zero knowledge of the civilian gun community. If anything you will ASSume that it is the same in the military so this hoplophobe believes we can buy full-auto M4’s and M16’s at gun shows with no background checks!!

    Like has been pointed out on this very thread and all over the gun community
    just because someone signs up for the military even the fighting branches does not make them weapon experts or knowledgeable of the civilian firearms market and how it operates.

  51. Well, if the Marine Corps Times has to present opinions for both sides of an argument like this; at least they presented the opinion of a guy that doesn’t even understand that the President cannot “bypass Congress by enacting stricter gun laws.” Right off the bat, the man has no credibility to speak on Constitutional matters.

    Well done Marine Corps Times. I see what you did there.

  53. “Military-grade assault rifles?” And this guy is trying to claim that his having been a Marine gives him some kind of special qualifications regarding firearms with which to lecture the rest of us?

  54. Repeating versus understanding. Keep in mind that the average military person of today’s education cannot find Russia on a map, tell you how many territories in the US, or even know about the Bill of Rights or the Constitution because in most schools it is read over- NOT taught as it once was.

    To believe tha many Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines can even remember their oath of enlistment is stretching it. For me it was different because we were drilled on these items back in the day of draftees. For instance-

    I, Dez do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God!

    As maw bell says- reach out and touch someone!

  55. At a bare minimum, I hope that this story effectively informs those of us that put our reverence and higher than warranted regard to those that served. There are many reasons that persons do, not all altruistic or idyllic.

    I’ve known and met scores of veterans that because they served in a time prior to this “war on terror”, didn’t come out with a sense of being a unique and a particularly special human being. Must say, that it has been something I’ve noticed with this generations service folk. Assertively proud and not hesitant to assert themselves as almost a better and more bonafide human being than those that didnt pick up the sword for the state. Not everyone does it for the ideals of the constitution, some are statists and believe the constitution says “we the government of these united states. . .” and not “we the people. . .”

    I hear and read all kinds of talk on firearm forums and other 2A conversations that we need not worry because “when” the government REALLY starts to behave oppressive and if they attempt to use the military and law enforcement to forcibly impose their will on the people, the boys in uniform will be on our side. WAKE UP!! The government will always have enough sociopathic, authoritian minded, door-kickers to follow it’s orders.

  57. As an actual Marine, with the damned fine last name of Hess, I am doubly offended by this traitor. My family has fought for freedom in this country since the Revolutionary War. My grandfather fought in World War II and I still hunt with his 1897 model Winchester 12 gauge. My father (and all my uncles) served in the Army. Dad shot company high and introduced me to firearms when I was so young I can’t remember a time not shooting.. I think I started shooting (a real firearm) with his Ruger Mark I. Time may have taken somewhat of a toll over the course of an awfully fun life and left me a little less operationally operational but I took an oath before my God and my fellow man. To sum up my feelings: I will defend his right to speak his beliefs but if he wants to put them into action? Let him personally start with me…

  58. ” It also displays a stunning lack of consideration for — and understanding of — the Second Amendment”

    ^^^^ This, but more. We are all seeing a complete lack of understanding of our constitution overall – not just on 2A matters. This is deeply troubling, and, left unchecked, spells the end of this great country as we know it.

  59. Sounds a little unreal, coming from a Senior NCO! of course all the Services want educated brain washed NCO’s or they could not function, As an E-6 I was not allowed to comment on political issues with the Civilian world and was subject to the UCMJ.this is! another REMPF trying to make life miserable as he is not the skippers Favorite! He’s just planning ahead for retirement in his own private utopia! Let him be! this is a put up job for talking points!

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