Among the committee’s recommendations is that all weapons of those living on military installations be registered, as well as locked away when stored.
More than 500 military personnel and 200 military family members committed suicide in the US in 2021, according to Pentagon figures.
An independent panel recommended on Friday that the US military must more strictly control access to atomic weapons by its personnel on military bases to prevent as many suicides as possible, which number in the hundreds each year.
“In the majority of suicides in the ranks of the armed forces, weapons are used,” explained the committee, which was commissioned in 2021 by the Pentagon to study the issue and make recommendations, adding that “reducing access to weapons,” especially in ” moments” of intense emotional charge, “would reduce” suicides.
He urged that seven days elapse between the purchase of a weapon on base and delivery to the owner, four for ammunition, and that the age limit for each purchase be increased to 25 years.
Among the committee’s 120 recommendations is also to register all weapons of those living on military installations, and to lock them when stored.
Their possible adoption would strengthen the current regulations, which vary from base to base, since they depend on the law of the state where each is located.
Access to guns, on which there are few restrictions in the US, is often a bone of contention in the American political scene: the right opposes any restrictive measure.
Source :Skai
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