Rep. Lynda Wilson R-Vancouver Photo

State lawmakers from Clark County are urging Gov. Jay Inslee to allow members of the Washington National Guard to carry firearms.

The letter to the Democratic governor, signed by the region’s Republican delegation and other state lawmakers, comes after a gunman killed four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor at a military recruiting station in Tennessee.

Rep. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, spearheaded the effort and wrote that it’s time to “arm service members at facilities” and allow them “the right to protect themselves from peril” just like “any other free man or woman as allowed by law and constitutionally protected natural rights.”

Wilson, a gun-rights activist, wrote in the letter that “gun-free zones — our own military bases — are clearly the target of evil forces intent on killing and maiming the very individuals who risk their lives for the protection and safety of everyone else.”

Wilson was out of cellphone range on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.