The ability for law-abiding citizens to be able to carry firearms in
National Parks has moved forward a major notch today in the US Senate!!
While there are still many steps left to go, this bill passing out of
a Senate committee by such a huge **bipartisan** margin (18 to 5!!)
has got to send a very strong message to the Department of the
Interior, which is considering updating its regulations to allow carry
as well.
The message is clear: If DOI doesn't do it right and has too many
restrictions, then Congress will make them do it right!
The possibility of you and I legally carrying a gun for self-defense
in National Parks in the near future is looking brighter all the time!
Gun-rights are continuing to move forward everywhere I look. The
Liberty Bell is tolling. It is a great time to be an American.
Of course, this is no time to slow down or take anything for granted.
We must continue to fight with even more vigor and determination to
achieve the full restoration of the Second Amendment.
Here are two articles on the bill:
http://tinyurl.com/4pwnfu
Picnic Basket? Check. Bug Spray? Check. Ammo? Check.
Energy and natural resources are issues critically important to
America's future. Sound energy and resource policy can make our
environment cleaner, spur economic growth, and improve national
security.
With that in mind, it's perplexing that today the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee debated and
approved a bill to allow loaded guns in national parks.
The bill would end the 25-year-old ban on carrying loaded guns in
national parks. (If state law banned gun possession in parks, the
state policy would supersede the new law and remain in effect.) The
bill passed the committee in an 18-5, according to CQPolitics.com.
The bill would accomplish the same goal as a Bush administration rule
the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposed in April. Reg•Watch
thinks the Interior rule will be among the many rules the Bush
administration pushes through in its final months in order to secure
its ideological legacy.
Both the bill and the proposed rule are remarkably unnecessary. An
April Associated Press article explains:
There is no data to suggest that the public would be served by
allowing visitors to parks to possess concealed handguns, [Coalition
of National Park Service Retirees Chairman Bill] Wade and other
critics said. They cited statistics showing that national parks are
among the safest places in the country. The probability of becoming a
victim of a violent crime in a national park is 1 in more than 708,000
— less likely than being struck by lightning, the groups said.
On the other hand, Sen. Jim DeMint☼ (R-SC), unmoved by fact, said,
"The purpose of this bill is to protect innocent Americans from
violent crime in national parks," according to CQPolitics.com.
However, since Congress almost never actually passes legislation, the
Interior regulation is still the best bet for gun rights advocates
hoping to arm national parks. Stay tuned to Reg•Watch for updates.
--
http://tinyurl.com/3jvfvu
Senate Panel Votes to Permit National Park Visitors to Carry Guns
With solid bipartisan support, a Senate panel approved legislation on
Thursday to allow loaded guns in national parks.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved, 18-5, a draft
bill by Sen. Jim DeMint , R-S.C. It would allow people to bring loaded
guns into national parks and wildlife refuges unless state laws bar
them from doing so. Park Service regulations now allow guns only if
they are unloaded and stowed.
"The purpose of this bill is to protect innocent Americans from
violent crime in national parks," DeMint said.
Park advocacy groups immediately decried the move and warned it could
be far more difficult for park rangers to stop poaching. "America's
national parks shouldn't be made a political football in the gun
debate," said Bryan Faehner, associate director for park use at the
National Parks Conservation Association.
The push to allow firearms in the parks has been a rallying point for
the National Rifle Association. A non-controversial public lands
measure was held up for months when Tom Coburn , R-Okla.,
unsuccessfully tried to bring up a floor amendment on the same topic.
In response to requests from more than 50 senators, Interior Secretary
Dirk Kempthorne proposed a regulatory change this year to allow guns
in national parks if the state in which they are located permits them
in its state parks. The rule could become final before President Bush
leaves office.
DeMint's bill as drafted would allow individuals to carry guns in
national parks even if the state bars them in its own parks. Senators
agreed before approving the bill make the bill consistent with the
proposed regulation before bringing it to the floor.
