Advocacy Update: Safety On: The Right to Bear Arms Extends into Park Territory

Dolesh, Richard J., Parks & Recreation

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With the recent Supreme Court decision (Heller v. District of Columbia) ratifying the Second Amendment's individual right to keep and bear arms, the issue of the carrying of concealed, loaded weapons has suddenly burst into the consciousness of virtually every American. The issue of whether, when, and where concealed weapons can be carried in American parks will likely be something that every agency will have to deal with very soon.

NRPA has recently been engaged in the national discussion, having submitted official comments to the Department of the Interior regarding proposed new federal regulations that would allow the concealed-carry of loaded, operable firearms in national parks and national wildlife refuges.

Earlier this year, 51 senators wrote Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, requesting him to authorize such a rule change administratively. Present regulations, in force for more than 25 years, allow for the possession of firearms in national parks and national wildlife refuges, but require that they be unloaded and stored so that they are not easily operable.

The NRPA Board of Trustees Public Policy …

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Publication information: Article title: Advocacy Update: Safety On: The Right to Bear Arms Extends into Park Territory. Contributors: Dolesh, Richard J. - Author. Magazine title: Parks & Recreation. Volume: 43. Issue: 8 Publication date: August 2008. Page number: 14+. © 2009 National Recreation and Park Association. COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale Group.

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