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Bush Administration's Haste Could Doom New Gun Rules In National Parks

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In its apparent haste to rewrite the rules so national park visitors could arm themselves, the Bush administration might have shot itself in the foot.

According to documents obtained by the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, the Interior Department was advised to perform, but refused to do so, an environmental analysis of the rule change's impact on national parks.

The Bush administration in December finalized a rule to allow loaded, concealed firearms in all national parks except those located in two states: Wisconsin and Illinois, which do not permit concealed weapons. The former rule, put in place by the Reagan administration, required that firearms transported through national parks be safely stowed and unloaded. The rule change took effect January 9, before President Obama was sworn in.

When his group announced back in December that it would seek to overturn the rule change in court, Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke said the change would endanger national park visitors.

"The Bush Administration's last-minute gift to the gun lobby, allowing concealed semiautomatic weapons in national parks, jeopardizes the safety of park visitors in violation of federal law," said Mr. Helmke. "We should not be making it easier for dangerous people to carry concealed firearms in our parks."

The lawsuit, which named as defendants Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall, claimed Interior officials violated several federal laws to implement the rule before President Bush leaves office. Specifically, it charged that Interior failed to conduct any environmental review of the harm that the rule might cause, as is required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Brady Campaign also believes the rule violates the National Park Service Organic Act and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, which created the parks and wildlife refuges as protected lands for safe enjoyment of all visitors.

Now, in a column Mr. Helmke wrote Thursday, he says there is evidence that the Bush administration ignored NEPA requirements:

...the previous administration ignored warnings from Interior Department officials that the rule was being changed in violation of Federal law because of a rush to get things in place before Bush left office.

These internal Bush administration documents were acquired by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in response to our lawsuit against the Interior Department. You can read the documents here.

These documents show that the Bush administration ignored the procedural concerns and safety warnings of at least two federal agencies in order to push through the rule in time to deny the Obama administration a chance to review it.

For example, on April 3, 2008, the National Park Service's Chief of Environmental Quality, Jacob Hoogland, warned that the rule "required additional NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] analysis" and that "at minimum an Environmental Assessment should be prepared on the proposed revision to the existing firearms regulation."

In the same vein, Michael Schwartz, the Fish and Wildlife Service's Chief of Policy and Directives Management, warned on May 14, 2008 that "The rule was published before they did any NEPA analysis. Last week, I pointed out that this is a procedural flaw."

Comments

MHopper1000, wow, these comments have been pretty calm until now. I'm thinking people like you and your comments are part of the reason some don't want people like yourself to carry a weapon in the National Parks. Sounds to me like you don't like "Hippies", which I believe went out in the 70's anyway. I was on the fence about this subject until I read your comment. Now I believe there is good reason for no guns in the parks. Why not leave the law the way it was (no cwc) inthe parks if people like you are going to do it anyway? Nice comments, WOW!


You do all realize we, (CCDW) permit holders, carry all over the united states right now, right? And there already are thousands who do. What is so different about me carrying it in a NP? As for the training. You lump everyone into a non trained don't know caliber, etc, category. I myself am in the military. Infantry (door kicker/grunt) and have been for 13 years. Been to Iraq over 30 months, been in very stressful situations, am trained to know when to pull my gun and when not to. I also have been hunting 16+ years and have been in the woods more than most of you traveling tourist posting quotes and stats. Speaking of stats... check the one on Australia's guns law and how well that one worked out. How much training do people get before driving a car? Statistically these are more deadly than guns, especially legal guns! Should we ban all motorized vehicles from NP? What's their impact on the environment? Bet it's worse than my gun's. I could go on and on about how ridicules the gun ban and your reasoning for it. Just make sure if, God forbid, you ever find yourself being robbed, your kid is being taken from you, etc. you let me know NOT to use my weapon because you don't believe we need them in the hands of people who can use them correctly. ( Oh and drugs aren't smuggled across the borders in NP either so don't worry about criminals with fully auto guns in your NPs. )


Nothing like an angry rant with a little ad hominem assault thrown in to engender confidence, eh?. I'm sure everyone fells much better knowing our new self-appointed protector, Amstutz, is on watch. Enjoy your next trip to the park, folks. Stay low.


Just stating facts fontinalis. I'm not angry at all. As for protector, do you sleep good at night? If yes then I, and my other brothers in arms, are doing our job. You are welcome. As a friend and author wrote in his book "On Killing" you are just a sheep and we are the sheep dogs. You follow along doing what everyone else does criticizing the sheepdog until one day when the wolf comes by. Then we are your best friend. I'd rather be criticized by people like you and fight the terrorist in their "yard" than leave myself, my family, and my country vulnerable to threats foreign and domestic. So bash us gun carriers and military all you want, we'll still be here when you need us....it's our job. Sleep well tonight, and tomorrow when your driving down the road, feel safe that you won't be blown up by a roadside bomb . And know that your kids will be safe in school, unlike the massacre that happened at a school in the Soviet Union. Because terrorist " don't live here" and you don't need protection........right?


I've never had any problem with people carrying guns, generally dislike the gun-control lobby, am well trained and licensed to carry myself, and would fully support concealed carry in the parks...

...except for these "discussions" here. After reading this stuff I want to become a gun control activist. The ignorant, condescending, and melodramatic comments are certainly persuasive, thought not, I fear, in the manner intended. The views of the more measured and logical of the gun-rights supporters (surely, hopefully, a majority of that camp?) are certainly marginalized by this. Sad, but a similar fate as debates on any other emotionally charged issues, I suppose.


How does the world look from your holy perch, B. Amstutz? I don't understand how owning a gun has anything to do with keeping me safe from a terrorist. Terrorist attacks occur in all kinds of countries, both those with very strict gun laws and those with very loose gun laws. I don't see how owning guns has anything to do with this. Yes, I thank our military personnel for putting their lives on the line to defend the country, but I don't see how that justifies allowing guns in national parks.

I'm also wondering whether you really believe that guns and cars are equally appropriate for national parks, or if you wanted to rethink that point. I agree that cars have more overall impact, but I also have to believe that they might be just a teensy more essential for actually, y'know, visiting most parks.


a bunch of you guys are idiots. the law abiding, licensed to carry, would be able to carry. the criminals and non-law abiding will still carry, if they want; so who has the advantage here? who's safe? i don't feel safer knowing the fbi, or cop, next to me, can't carry and the criminal who decides to rob the store, while he's there, or take a pot shot, will. are the people in the gang infested neighborhoods safer, if cops didn't have guns and the gang members armed illegally? think about it, makes no sense, this is stupid. the people fighting this, are either stupid idiots, like carrying illegally, or know people who do.


FYI MH, there are tons of reports of CCDW carriers stopping crimes. Therefor we have shown that by carrying there is the possibility that we are keeping you safer. As far as the car thing I was simply responding to the statement "And with all do respect to carriers of concealed weapons permits, passing a proficiency test on the use of a handgun seems unlikely to do much for the piece of mind of the average family-of-four on vacation." By your rational I shouldn't carry because it's only a proficiency test, which is false. I was asking how much "training" do people get before they drive a vehicle and for that matter how long do they have to wait before getting their license back after say a reckless driving charge, DUI, etc? In my opinion they are more of a threat to my family of 6 the a legally caring, trained CCDW person. There are idiots out there that take carrying to the extreme, but I have yet to find where a legally carrying individual has been charged with, and convicted of a crime when trying to help. (I'm sure that's about to change). The 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with CCDW, that argument from my piers is ridiculous. However the law says that after training, testing, and a shooting test I am aloud to carry in certain places, abiding by certain rules. It allows me to protect my family if need be and others if I can do it safely. If the law reverses I won't like it but I will abide by it. I doubt though that the criminals, who you should be worried about, will.


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