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Bentley orders flags at half-staff to honor Chattanooga shooting victims

Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) place flags in front of the graves in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., May 22, 2014. (Photo: Spc. Cody W. Torkelson)
Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) place flags in front of the graves in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., May 22, 2014. (Photo: Spc. Cody W. Torkelson)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Governor Robert Bentley (R-AL) announced Tuesday on his official twitter account that all flags in Alabama will be lowered to half-staff until Saturday to honor the fallen service-members killed in the Chattanooga shooting last week.

Earlier this week, Governor Robert Bentley sided with gun-rights and self-defense advocates by directing the Alabama National Guard to develop a plan to arm national guardsmen while they are on duty.

One of the most crushing images in the aftermath of the shootings showed the bullet-riddled glass front door of a Marine recruitment center with a “No Gun Zone” sign prominently displayed. The massacre has brought to the forefront the policy of not allowing members of the armed services to carry weapons while on duty in the United States.

Some Alabama veterans have taken this duty into their own hands. Earlier this week, Yellowhammer reported on two veterans in Huntsville standing guard at one of the city’s armed forces recruitment centers.

Congressional leadership and President Barack Obama ordered White House flags, Capitol Hill flags, and all flags at federal facilities to be displayed at half-staff Tuesday to honor the four U.S. Marines and one Navy sailor killed last week in the attack.

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