May 22, 2009

2nd Amendment Restored in National Parks

Earlier this year, I commented on the rule change that would allow concealed-carry permit holders to have concealed weapons in national parks—subject to the rules of the state in which the park is located.

A lawsuit by gun-control advocates led to an injunction blocking the new rules.

But now President Obama has signed a bill he wanted that carried Sen. Coburn's amendment restoring the weapons provision.

And as Colorado blogger Michael Bane notes, the new law is even stronger than the old rule change.

In fact, if I read Say Uncle correctly, the concealed-carry permit part is gone. You are merely under the surrounding state's rules. See also Sebastian, and note that the new law is not in effect until February 22, 2010.

The amendment's text says that the Interior Dept. shall not prohibit someone from possessing a firearm in a national park or wildlife refuge "if the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the State in which the unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System is located."

The NRA offers some crime statistics for national parks.

I expect further hair-splitting and hand-wringing though, along with inevitable jokes about whether a Park Service outhouse is a "federal facility."

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