VA-ALERT: Do your part now! - 47 Senators sign letter on National Park carry!!!

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W.E.G.

W.E.G.

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VA-ALERT: Do your part now! - 47 Senators sign letter on National Park carry!!!


Pressure on the Department of the Interior (DOI) to change the rules in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges to allow law-abiding gun owners to carry guns for self-defense has just increased dramatically!

**Forty-seven** Senators have co-signed a letter from Senator Mike Crapo to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Department of the Interior
(DOI) asking DOI to allow state law to determine if guns can be carried in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in that state!

The letter (and a link to the PDF version of the letter) is below.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb signed the letter. Senator John Warner, as usual, was no where to be found.

The NRA was apparently instrumental in getting this letter generated - good job. Now we need to help make this actually happen.

ACTION ITEMS:

First, let's thank Senator Webb for supporting this effort and encourage him to continue putting pressure on DOI to do the right thing.

We also need to contact Senator Warner and urge him to let DOI know that he, too, supports Senator Crapo's efforts.

--

For Senator Webb's web mail, click here:

http://webb.senate.gov/contact/

Subject - select "Civil Liberty"

Suggested message:

I would like to thank you for signing Senator Crapo's letter to the Department of the Interior! Please keep pressure on the Department of the Interior to allow state law to determine if law-abiding citizens are able to carry firearms for self-defense while they are visiting National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges!

--

For Senator Warner's web mail, click here:

http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

Subject - select "Second Amendment"

Suggested message:

I urge you to send a letter to the Department of the Interior supporting the efforts of Senator Crapo and 46 other Senators to allow state law to determine if law-abiding citizens can carry a firearm for self-defense while visiting National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. The right for a citizen to defend himself is both Constitutionally protected and is not negotiable.

Please let me know what you are going to do.

--

Here is a link to the letter and the text of the letter:

http://www.nraila.org/Media/PDFs/kempthorne_ltr.pdf

United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510

December 14, 2007

The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW.
Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Kempthorne:

We write today concerning a longstanding effort to have the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service remove their prohibitions on law-abiding citizens from transporting and carrying firearms on lands managed by these agencies.
We appeal to
you on this matter in the interest of Second Amendment rights and consistency in firearms policy across federal public land management agencies.

As you know, 36 CFR 2.4, applicable to the National Park Service, and 50 CFR 27.42, applicable to the Fish and Wildlife Service, prohibits individuals from possessing a firearm on lands managed by those agencies - even citizens with valid concealed weapons permits.

These regulations infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who wish to transport and carry firearms on or across these lands. Also, you will note that other federal land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service allow transporting and carrying of firearms on these lands in accordance with the laws of the host state. These inconsistencies in firearms regulations for public lands are confusing, burdensome, and unnecessary.

For these reasons, we support an exception to 36 CFR 2.4 and 50 CFR
27.42 to allow
law-abiding citizens to transport and carry firearms consistent with state law where the National Park Service's sites and the National Wildlife Refuges are located. Such regulatory changes would respect the Second Amendment rights of law- abiding gun owners, while providing a consistent application of state weapons laws across all land ownership boundaries.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our concerns with you. Please treat this letter in conformance with all applicable procedural rules and ethical guidelines.

Sincerely,

Senator Mike Crapo

Senator Max Baucus

Senator Larry Craig

Senator Tim Johnson

Senator Jim Inhofe

Senator Jon Tester

Senator David Vitter

Senator Mark Pryor

Senator Gordon Smith

Senator Blanche Lincoln

Senator Orrin Hatch

Senator Byron Dorgan

Senator Norm Coleman

Senator Ben Nelson

Senator Tom Coburn

Senator Jim Webb

Senator Judd Gregg

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Senator John Ensign

Senator John Sununu

Senator Ted Stevens

Senator Robert Bennett

Senator Saxby Chambliss

Senator Thad Cochran

Senator Johnny Isakson

Senator John Bunning

Senator Wayne Allard

Senator John Thune

Senator Chuck Grassley

Senator Bob Corker

Senator Trent Lott

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison

Senator Pat Roberts

Senator Mel Martinez

Senator John Cornyn

Senator Richard Shelby

Senator Chuck Hagel

Senator Lindsey Graham

Senator Elizabeth Dole

Senator Mike Enzi

Senator John McCain

Senator John Barrasso

Senator Sam Brownback

Senator Pete Domenici

Senator Jim DeMint

Senator Jeff Sessions

Senator Jon Kyl

-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
***************************************************************************
 
Sent Sen Burr/R-NC a letter to endorse this as our other Senator already has (Dole)

EDIT -- Wednesday Morning -- I just got a phone call from an assistant at Senator Burr's office and was told that they'll be contacting Senator Dole's office for more details to also sign this letter. :)
Very surprised to get a call back. Usually when I lobby State lawmakers I at best get an email back from them 1/2 to 1/3 of the time. Never a call back, and never from a Senator. I'm just glad we have two, openly pro-2A Senators in NC.
 
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With as many pro-gun people as there are in Indiana, you'd think we have pro-gun Senators.

We do not. :(
 
47 Senators sign letter on National Park carry!!!

Pressure on the Department of the Interior (DOI) to change the rules in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges to allow law-abiding gun owners to carry guns for self-defense has just increased dramatically!

**Forty-seven** Senators have co-signed a letter from Senator Mike Crapo to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) asking DOI to allow state law to determine if guns can be carried in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in that state!

The letter (and a link to the PDF version of the letter) is below.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb signed the letter. Senator John Warner, as usual, was no where to be found.

The NRA was apparently instrumental in getting this letter generated - good job. Now we need to help make this actually happen.

For those who are not in the loop, the Dept of Interior allows lawful concealed weapons carry in National Forests, but forbids it in National Parks. This letter is an effort (started by VCDL a couple years ago) to get them to chage their rules so that weapons carry is governed by the laws of the states where the parks are located.
Here is a link to the letter and the text of the letter:

http://www.nraila.org/Media/PDFs/kempthorne_ltr.pdf

United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510

December 14, 2007

The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW.
Washington DC 20240

Dear Secretary Kempthorne:

We write today concerning a longstanding effort to have the National
Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service remove their prohibitions on law-abiding citizens from transporting and carrying firearms on lands managed by these agencies. We appeal to you on this matter in the interest of Second Amendment rights and consistency in firearms policy across federal public land management agencies.

As you know, 36 CFR 2.4, applicable to the National Park Service, and
50 CFR 27.42, applicable to the Fish and Wildlife Service, prohibits individuals from possessing a firearm on lands managed by those agencies - even citizens with valid concealed weapons permits.

These regulations infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners,
who wish to transport and carry firearms on or across these lands. Also, you will note that other federal land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service allow transporting and carrying of firearms on these lands in accordance with the laws of the host state. These inconsistencies in firearms regulations for public lands are confusing, burdensome, and unnecessary.

For these reasons, we support an exception to 36 CFR 2.4 and 50 CFR
27.42 to allow law-abiding citizens to transport and carry firearms consistent with state law where the National Park Service's sites and the National Wildlife Refuges are located. Such regulatory changes would respect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, while providing a consistent application of state weapons lawsacross all land ownership boundaries.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our concerns with you. Please
treat this letter in conformance with all applicable procedural rules and ethical guidelines.

Sincerely,

Senator Mike Crapo

Senator Max Baucus

Senator Larry Craig

Senator Tim Johnson

Senator Jim Inhofe

Senator Jon Tester

Senator David Vitter

Senator Mark Pryor

Senator Gordon Smith

Senator Blanche Lincoln

Senator Orrin Hatch

Senator Byron Dorgan

Senator Norm Coleman

Senator Ben Nelson

Senator Tom Coburn

Senator Jim Webb

Senator Judd Gregg

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Senator John Ensign

Senator John Sununu

Senator Ted Stevens

Senator Robert Bennett

Senator Saxby Chambliss

Senator Thad Cochran

Senator Johnny Isakson

Senator John Bunning

Senator Wayne Allard

Senator John Thune

Senator Chuck Grassley

Senator Bob Corker

Senator Trent Lott

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison

Senator Pat Roberts

Senator Mel Martinez

Senator John Cornyn

Senator Richard Shelby

Senator Chuck Hagel

Senator Lindsey Graham

Senator Elizabeth Dole

Senator Mike Enzi

Senator John McCain

Senator John Barrasso

Senator Sam Brownback

Senator Pete Domenici

Senitor Jim DeMint

Senator Jeff Sessions

Senator Jon Kyl
 
Just a question and/or comment. How will this effect state parks residing in multiple states? For example, Yellowstone resides in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

So if this letter were to pass, and the states regulate the laws, I would need to know all three states laws while camping in yellowstone?

I know this is a nit-picking question, but I really am curious if someone could enlighten me.


Forgot to mention, both my senators are on board :) Baucus and Tester
 
Just a question and/or comment. How will this effect state parks residing in multiple states? For example, Yellowstone resides in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

So if this letter were to pass, and the states regulate the laws, I would need to know all three states laws while camping in yellowstone?

I know this is a nit-picking question, but I really am curious if someone could enlighten me.
Click to expand...

All three states recognize the other's carry permits, and all three are free(no permit required) open carry states. They also recognize UT permits, if you have one of those. My assumption(I could be entirely wrong, though, how does that saying go again? :)) would be that the same carry restrictions that would apply in the rest of ID/WY/MT, will also be applicable in the respective parts of the park, but their laws being pretty similar, I don't think that it'll be that big of a deal.

Anyway, I'm glad to see at least one of my senators up there, the other, who supports the AWB, is of course absent.
 
Thank you for the response. Yellowstone was a bad example. Take a National Park in two very different states (Death Valley National Park, nevada and california). How would anyone from Nevada, who is carrying a non-california legal gun, be legal in the california side of the park? Again, this is just nit-picking honest question, maybe we wont know until we know.

Another thing, for those of you who have senators on this thing, please take time to thank them: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?

If your senator isn't on this, let them know why they should be... or why you wont be voting for them come re-election time: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?
 
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would be a heck of a thing, but since the NPS recently revisited this issue already and declined to change the policy, I suspect it may not amount to much. But, it probably does not hurt any to try.
 
"would be a heck of a thing, but since the NPS recently revisited this issue already and declined to change the policy, I suspect it may not amount to much. But, it probably does not hurt any to try."

That was before my former, very pro-gun, governor Dirk Kempthorne was put in charge.

"How will this effect state parks residing in multiple states? For example, Yellowstone resides in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho."

At least for Yeloowstone, these three states have reciporicity (sp?) with each other, non-issue there.
 
One of my Florida Senator's Bill Nelson appears to be MIA as to be expected by this anti-gunner.
It appears from the Senators' letter that they are requesting all NPS lands to be included which would cover National Monuments,Seashores,Military Parks,etc.I hope thats what it would cover,everything.
 
Mine aren't on the list, but that's no surprise. I hope this gets somewhere. A majority did not sign, but we got almost half to sign, that's good. I wish a law would be passed reversing the NPS's policy if they don't change it voluntarily, but that could be difficult.
 
Why didn't these Senators do this when they had about 8 more friendly votes a year ago and just put it in as an amendment to the DOI's appropriation bill as a matter of law? This looks silly, the Congress having to ask a department to change a regulation. Congress should tell them what to do as a matter of law.
 
From Tennessee Sen. Corker is on board. However, Sen. Lamar Alexander would not sign. I called his office and his staff person told me the Senator felt like the law "as is" has been working pretty well and he would not be calling for a change unless the Dept. of Interior felt like the change was necessary. Not too good for a man who ran as a "strong supporter of Second Amendment Rights" in my opinion.
 
Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama signed this?

Shocked, just shocked I tell you.

(Good for "Saint Pete" of NM to be on board, I just hope that we can elect a worthy successor to him.)
 
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