Florida Governor Rick Scott talked to guardsmen at a Jacksonville National Guard base Wednesday about how he’s working to protect them in the wake of last week’s Chattanooga shooting.
National Guard recruiting centers across the state are being temporarily relocated until they are made more secure.
Scott has moved the state’s six recruiting centers to their closest National Guard Armory. He says he’s working with Adjutant General of Florida Michael Calhoun to make the centers safer.
“Whether it’s bullet-proof glass, whether we need to have patrols, whatever we need to do,” he said. “But they’re not going to be reopened until they’re safe.”
Scott also wants to ensure all qualified guardsmen are armed. Scott says he thinks President Obama should take similar action across the country.
“I hope the president will look at what we’re doing in Florida,” he said. “This is pure common sense. This is not politics, this is common sense. Our military needs to be safe.”
While in town, Scott also stopped at Jacksonville’s Johnson & Johnson Vision Care to congratulate that company on creating 100 new jobs.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly said in the headline that Governor Scott was securing National Guard bases. Governor Scott is securing the recruiting centers by moving them into the nearest National Guard base.
