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Friday, December 05, 2008
Fairfax, Va. - The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI),
through the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, has announced the final amended version of its changes
to rules on carrying of firearms in national parks and wildlife
refuges. DOI’s move will restore the rights of law-abiding gun
owners who wish to transport and carry firearms for lawful
purposes on most DOI lands, and will make federal law consistent
with the state law in which these public lands are located. The
National Rifle Association (NRA) led the effort to amend the
existing policy regarding the carrying and transportation of
firearms on these federal lands.
“Today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior
brings clarity and uniformity for law-abiding gun owners
visiting our national parks,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief
lobbyist. “We are pleased that the Interior Department
recognizes the right of law-abiding citizens to protect
themselves and their families while enjoying America's National
Parks and wildlife refuges.”
DOI announced the rule change today and will publish the new
regulations in the Federal Register. The new regulations allow
right-to-carry permit holders to exercise their Second Amendment
rights on national park and wildlife refuges in those states
that recognize such permits. The move will provide consistency
across our nation’s federal lands and put an end to the
patchwork of regulations that governed different lands managed
by different federal agencies. In the past, Bureau of Land
Management and Forest Service lands allowed the carrying of
firearms, while lands managed by DOI did not.
The NRA has long held that amendments to those regulations were
needed to reflect the changed legal situations with respect to
state laws on carrying firearms. Earlier this year, fifty-one
U.S. Senators sent a strong bipartisan letter to the DOI
supporting the move to make state firearms laws applicable to
national park lands and refuges.
“These changes respect the Second Amendment rights of honest
citizens as they enjoy our public lands,” concluded Cox. “We
applaud the Interior Department’s efforts to amend these out of
date regulations.”
-NRA-
Established in 1871, the National Rifle
Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's
group. Nearly four million members strong, NRA continues its
mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate
enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce
crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm
education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law
enforcement and the military.
Copyright 2008, National Rifle Association
of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial
purposes.
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