Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Obama's Justice defending Bush Gun Policy

From the WaPo:

The Obama administration is legally defending a last-minute rule enacted by President George W. Bush that allows concealed firearms in national parks, even as it is internally reviewing whether the measure meets environmental muster.

In a response Friday to a lawsuit by gun-control and environmental groups, the Justice Department sought to block a preliminary injunction of the controversial rule. The regulation, which took effect Jan. 9, allows visitors [emph. mine] to bring concealed, loaded guns into national parks and wildlife refuges; for more than two decades they were allowed in such areas only if they were unloaded or stored and dismantled.

That is a bit misleading. It should say “visitors with concealed carry permits legally issued by the state in which the park is located”.

3 comments:

Stephanie said...

I'm nowhere near as pro-gun-control as the lion's share of the left, maybe because I grew up in hunting country and maybe because I had an NRA-member father who believed an armed population is a good thing for checking government authority in an extreme circumstance, BUT really, people need to or want to carry guns in National Parks?! Sigh. Will be disappointed in Obama if he really lets this be, though somehow I'm wondering if maybe there's political benefit to attacking the rule through the backdoor (using environmental impact justification) rather than from head on. I think we have to stay tuned on this.

Scooter said...

You can carry in National Forests (or at least you used to be able to when I back-country camped in CO) for critter protection.

It's one thing in the camping areas where the only possibly dangerous critters are the two-legged kind. You and I can fight about that till the cows come home...it is the very nature of the CCP arguments. But, nobody moves very far in AK without bear protection.

Somehow I don't even think the EPA could come up with a viable lead argument. It's not like one is dumping lead...just carrying.

Anonymous said...

http://senseofevents.blogspot.com/2009/02/its-lead.html