Congress joins states in making parks safe for gun carry

May 22, 1:05 AMDC Gun Rights ExaminerMike Stollenwerk

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Great Falls National Park

Over the last few years states have been moving aggressively to make parks safe for gun carry.  The states have been going about this in two ways:  First, by repealing state statutes and regulations which make gun carry in parks unlawful.  And second, by preempting localities from regulating gun carry in any way.  

For example, in 2002 the Virginia Attorney General issued an opinion stating that the Virginia Department of Conservation's regulation forbidding the concealed carry of handguns in state parks, National Forests, and certain other lands was in conflict with state law.  Virginia Governor (and now US Senator) Mark Warner (D) moved quickly to order the regulation to be changed to allow concealed carry.  And just this week the Tennessee Senate approved a bill repealing Tennessee's ban on gun carry in state parks,  as did Pennsylvania last year.

And in 2004, the Virginia General Assembly amended the state firearms preemption law to repeal grandfathering of locality gun bans, thus clearing the way for folks to open or conceal carry in local parks without fear of violating some old dusty ordinance.  Other states like Ohio have done the same in recent years.

In late 2008, the Bush Administration passed a regulatory change repealing the national Park gun ban.  However a federal judge enjoined the rule change on environmental grounds in March, 2009.

Gun rights experts expected that eventually the federal Congress would step in and moot the judge's order and statutorily repeal the odd-man-out gun ban in National Parks.  And so Congress did this week, finally aligning "national parks and wildlife refuges with regulations governing the national forests and property controlled by the Bureau of Land Management," making gun carry safe again, even in federal parks.  

And with this move, Congress has decisively conformed federal law to respect the Second Amendment such that, with exceptions in only a few states and the District of Columbia, Americans can now carry guns for lawful purposes on public lands and highways from sea to shining sea.