An ironic image from last week's shooting scene at a recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tennesse, was a sign in the window indicating the building was s gun-free zone.

The glass around the sign was riddled by 33 bullet holes fired by gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, the Kuwaiti-born gunman who killed four defenseless Marines and one sailor who later died from his wounds in the attack.Public places like malls and restaurants have long been favorite targets for terrorists in search of locations which promise little resistance. For would-be terrorists in search of soft targets, such "gun-free" zones are always inviting.After the mass murder on the base at Fort Hood, Texas, six years ago, when Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 others, we thought that would be a wake-up call to beef up security at all military centers. Strangely, the Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies still classify the Fort Hood shootings as an act of workplace violence.Always reacting but not acting with force, Washington leadership appears to be a step behind the terrorists.Even though radical Islamist groups like ISIS have sworn to our destruction, the White House still refuses to even name radical Islam as the enemy.The regulations currently in place that prohibit military personnel from carrying weapons on the station premises are senseless.If Americans can exercise their Second Amendment right to carry a concealed gun, why can't those who are best trained in weaponry and sworn to protect us, carry one on their post?Today, Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee introduced the "Enhancing Safety at Military Installations Act," a bill designed "to safeguard military and civilian personnel on military bases and United States military recruitment facilities by repealing bans on military personnel carrying firearms."The primary function of the federal government is to provide for the national defense. That ranges from protecting us from a coordinated attacks like 9/11 to those launched by small cells or individual "lone wolves" who have been radicalized in America.Gun-free zones have a place in society but not on military stations. Would-be terrorists need to see a strong military presence and that means arming members of our armed forces.By Jim Zbicktneditor@tnonline.com