Senate Votes to Allow Guns in National Parks

[Uncle Jesse]

In light of the recent discussions about wild animals, particularly bears, it appears the most dangerous creatures in the parks are not bears but our fellow man. The bill previously past and apparently held in abeyance by the courts came into being after a young lady hiker was killed in the north Georgia mountains, her killer is currently on trial for a second murder in Florida.


Senate Votes to Allow Guns in National Parks


May 13, 2009
The U.S. Senate passed an amendment Tuesday by a 67-29 vote that will allow visitors to carry loaded firearms inside national parks and wildlife refuges. Offered by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Senate Amendment 1067 would prevent the secretary of the Interior from promulgating or enforcing any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm in any unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System if the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm and the possession of the firearm complies with the law of the state where the park or wildlife refuge is located.

The amendment is attached to H.R. 627, which would amend the Truth in Lending Act.
The text of Coburn's amendment explains the background of this issue: Section 27.42 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, states that, except in special circumstances, U.S. citizens may not 'possess, use, or transport firearms on national wildlife refuges' of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Bush administration issued new regulations that would allow firearms, and those regulations took effect Jan. 9, 2009, but a Washington, D.C. federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on March 19, 2009, to prevent those regulations from being implemented or enforced.

The amendment says "Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens on 83,600,000 acres of National Park System land and 90,790,000 acres of land under the jurisdiction of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . . . . should not be infringed."

In a statement posted on his office Web site, Coburn cited 2006 data from the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service: 16 homicides (including one manslaughter charge), 41 rape cases (including two attempted rapes), 92 robberies, 16 kidnappings, and 333 aggravated assaults. "These offenses only include homicides and other crimes handled by national park and refuge law enforcement, but don't account for the homicides and crimes other law enforcement agencies processed," the statement said.

[flickfly]

Its about time they put that into effect!

[CO_Flyfisher]

I guess I am missing something here. I thought this had BEEN in effect for quite some time now???

On a side note, the thing that gets me is that the previous "ban" on firearms in Nat'l Parks only kept the law-abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves. It's not like it stopped any of the criminals from carrying a firearm.

[Uncle Jesse]

As I understand it, the previous law was being blocked by a federal judge somewhere.

[Marco]

AND, as I recall, having asked a Parks Ranger in GTNP last year, the law is in effect as of February (?) of last year. I am not aware of a judicial block since then but, then again, legislation from the judicial bench in not uncommon these days. The will of the people means little to a jurist with an agenda.

Mark

[Uncle Jesse]

The will of the people means little to a jurist with an agenda. Mark

Go ahead and stick a fuse in that powder keg.

[branhap]

This law is already in affect, and can be used at the NP's out west...

http://www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/lawsandpolicies.htm

[maodiver]

does this mean that if I am hunting the open part of a refuge, I can chase a goose into the closed part and not have to put my gun down, as long as I don't shoot?

[branhap]

I just realized. The poster was posting from a news article published in 2009.... This is very old news.

[oldfrat]

I visited a number of national parks this Spring. Guns are not allowed in any of their buildings or on their shuttle buses. The new law primarily benefits the people going into the backcountry.