WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees filed suit this week in U.S. District Court to stop enforcement of a new regulation allowing loaded, concealed firearms in national parks, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The rule is scheduled to take effect Friday.
The Bush administration in December finalized a National Rifle Association-driven rule change to allow loaded, concealed firearms in all national parks except those located in two states: Wisconsin and Illinois.
The former rule, put in place by the Reagan Administration, required that firearms transported through national parks be safely stowed and unloaded.
In addition, the Brady Campaign also filed a complaint in federal court asking the court to strike down the the rule.
The suit was filed on behalf of the Brady Campaign and its members, including school teachers in the New York and Washington, D.C. areas who are canceling or curtailing school trips to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and the National Mall in Washington, D.C due to the Bush Administration's rule change.
Critics of the rule say it increases the risk to visitors, park staff and wildlife.
According to the lawsuit, the Department of the Interior "adopted the gun rule with unwarranted haste, without following procedures required by law and without the consideration of its consequences that they are required to observe under law. ... The new regulation is an affront to the National Parks' missions and purposes and a threat to the National Parks' resources and values, which must be held unlawful and set aside."
"In a rush to judgment, as a result of political pressure, the outgoing administration failed to comply with the law, and did not offer adequate reasons for doing so," said National Parks Conservation Association President Tom Kiernan.
The groups argue that the rule is unlawful because the Department of the Interior did not conduct an analysis of the rule's environmental effects, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, including the effects of the rule on threatened and endangered species.
The current leadership of the National Park Service and other park management professionals -- including the Association of National Park Rangers and the Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police -- also opposed the rule.
Of the 140,000 people who voiced their opinion on this issue during the public comment period, 73 percent opposed allowing loaded, concealed firearms in the national parks.
The rule is scheduled to take effect Friday.
The Bush administration in December finalized a National Rifle Association-driven rule change to allow loaded, concealed firearms in all national parks except those located in two states: Wisconsin and Illinois.
The former rule, put in place by the Reagan Administration, required that firearms transported through national parks be safely stowed and unloaded.
In addition, the Brady Campaign also filed a complaint in federal court asking the court to strike down the the rule.
The suit was filed on behalf of the Brady Campaign and its members, including school teachers in the New York and Washington, D.C. areas who are canceling or curtailing school trips to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and the National Mall in Washington, D.C due to the Bush Administration's rule change.
Critics of the rule say it increases the risk to visitors, park staff and wildlife.
According to the lawsuit, the Department of the Interior "adopted the gun rule with unwarranted haste, without following procedures required by law and without the consideration of its consequences that they are required to observe under law. ... The new regulation is an affront to the National Parks' missions and purposes and a threat to the National Parks' resources and values, which must be held unlawful and set aside."
"In a rush to judgment, as a result of political pressure, the outgoing administration failed to comply with the law, and did not offer adequate reasons for doing so," said National Parks Conservation Association President Tom Kiernan.
The groups argue that the rule is unlawful because the Department of the Interior did not conduct an analysis of the rule's environmental effects, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, including the effects of the rule on threatened and endangered species.
The current leadership of the National Park Service and other park management professionals -- including the Association of National Park Rangers and the Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police -- also opposed the rule.
Of the 140,000 people who voiced their opinion on this issue during the public comment period, 73 percent opposed allowing loaded, concealed firearms in the national parks.
